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Japan ruling bloc likely to lose upper house majority
A second election setback for PM Ishiba, following last October’s poor result in the lower house, would throw his policy agenda into further disarray.
Japan’s ruling coalition is likely to lose its majority in the upper house in Sunday’s election, according to exit polls conducted by Japanese media outlets, an outcome that will further weaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s leadership.
A poll by public broadcaster NHK showed that the ruling coalition is likely to secure about 32-51 seats of the 125 up for grabs, likely leaving it short of the 50 needed to maintain a majority in the chamber. NHK said the ruling bloc faced “a difficult situation” to keep unfettered control of the 248-member body.
The Asahi newspaper estimated that Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party would win about 34 seats and its junior coalition partner Komeito would take about seven, giving them some 41 seats combined. Nikkei said the coalition is expected to lose a significant number of seats, without giving an estimate.
A second election setback for Ishiba, following last October’s poor result in the lower house, would throw his policy agenda into further disarray, complicate trade talks with the US and potentially cost him his job. The last three LDP prime ministers who lost an upper house majority stepped down within two months.
The less powerful chamber can’t appoint a prime minister, hold a no-confidence vote or stop the passage of a budget. But it can delay or block other legislation, depending on the level of support, potentially leading to gridlock in the policymaking process.
