Japan's ruling party loses its majority after snap election [View all]

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: BBC

The coalition led by Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has lost its majority in parliament, its worst result for over a decade.

Opposition parties secured more than half the seats in the lower house, provisional election results showed.

With 22 seats left to declare, the LDP and its coalition partner, the much smaller Komeito, had gained 208 seats to the opposition's 235.

A party needs a majority of 233 seats in the lower house of Parliament, the Diet, to govern alone.

Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8xpev42g78o

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Chaos and political drama rock Japan's snap election

According to best estimates, the LDP, which has been in power almost continuously since 1955, has lost its single party majority in the country’s powerful lower house.

LDP also lost its majority as a governing coalition. Its junior coalition partner Komeito lost several of its seats, including that of its chief, as well, meaning that even with its partner, the LDP is still unable to achieve the 233 seats it needs for a majority.
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To stay in power, the LDP will now need to form a coalition with other parties it just fought in the election, and it will do so from a position of significant weakness. That means it must enter negotiations and make concessions to survive.

It is hard to overstate how rare this is. The LDP has always enjoyed a safe and steady place in Japanese politics.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2nn16wrk2o