By outdoor-nature-child.com On October 27th, Japan held its House of Representatives election, which resulted in a significant victory for the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP). Party leader Kenta Noda was all smiles on election night, reflecting the party’s success. According to reports from Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) and other media outlets, the vote counting process concluded just after 5 AM on October 28th (Eastern Time), revealing that the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) failed to secure a majority, both independently and in coalition with their partner, Komeito.
Out of the 465 seats contested in this election, the LDP won 191 seats, while Komeito captured 24, making a total of 215 for the ruling coalition—well short of the 233 needed for a majority.
Before the election, the LDP held a comfortable majority with 247 seats and Komeito had 32, totaling 279. However, the LDP saw a drastic decline of 56 seats, exceeding pre-election forecasts that estimated a loss of around 50 seats. Komeito also lost 8 seats, leading to a combined loss of 64 for the coalition.
Notably, Komeito leader Keiichi Ishii, who is also a former Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, lost his seat in Saitama to Yoshihiro Suzuki of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP). Ishii was not included in the proportional representation list, sealing his defeat. This marks a significant moment as it is the first time since 2009 that a Komeito leader has failed to win a seat.
In contrast, the CDP emerged as the biggest winner, dramatically increasing its number of seats from 98 to 148. Kenta Noda, the party’s leader and a former Prime Minister during the party’s predecessor administration, announced that he would aspire to become the new Prime Minister, succeeding Shigeru Ishiba of the LDP.
The DPP also saw substantial gains, soaring from 7 seats to 28. The Japan Innovation Party, based in the Kansai region of Osaka, experienced a setback, falling from 44 seats to 38 but still maintained its position as the third-largest party in the House. Meanwhile, the progressive left-wing party, Reiwa Shinsengumi, founded just in 2019, gained 6 seats, increasing its total from 3 to 9.
Despite agreeing to collaborate with opposition parties, LDP leader Shigeru Ishiba faced strong resistance from Kenta Noda, DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki, and Japan Innovation Party leader Nobuyuki Baba, all of whom expressed reluctance to join the LDP-Komeito coalition. Reports from Sankei Shimbun indicated that the Japan Innovation Party leadership completely distrusts the LDP.
For Noda to regain the Prime Minister’s office, he will need to build alliances with the DPP and Japan Innovation Party. However, even if these three parties unite, they would hold only 214 seats, necessitating collaboration with Reiwa Shinsengumi and possibly the Japanese Communist Party, which saw a reduction of 2 seats but holds 8 in total.
Although the LDP faced a significant defeat in this election, many prominent figures within the party, including Ishiba, former Minister of Economic Security Sanae Takaichi, party election strategy committee chair Shinjiro Koizumi, former Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida, Yoshihide Suga, and Taro Aso, as well as Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihisa Hayashi, were re-elected. Meanwhile, Koichi Hagiuda, one of the “Five” from the former Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyukai faction who faced issues due to a political fundraising scandal but ran as an independent, also won his seat.