Ishiba Faces Crisis of Losing Majority in House of Councillors Election

[Financial News Tokyo=Kim Kyungmin Correspondent] Ishiba Shigeru, the Prime Minister of Japan, is facing a political test in the national election. The foundation of his administration could be shaken depending on the results of the House of Councillors (Upper House) election, which is three days away.

According to local media on the 17th, this election targets 125 seats, half of the total 248 seats. The Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, the Komeito Party, need to secure more than 50 seats in this election to maintain their majority in the House of Councillors, combining with their existing seats. Although the ruling party has fielded a total of 66 candidates, the situation is a tight race, making it difficult to achieve a majority.

The Yomiuri Shimbun predicted that the Liberal Democratic Party would win 24-39 seats, and the Komeito Party 7-13 seats, with the ruling party expected to secure a total of 31-52 seats. The Asahi Shimbun estimated the ruling party would get 33-51 seats (Liberal Democratic Party 27-39 seats, Komeito Party 6-12 seats), while the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) forecasted around 40 seats for the Liberal Democratic Party and less than 10 seats for the Komeito Party. The key is how well the ruling party can defend competitive constituencies and perform in proportional representation.

In the crucial single-member districts (one winner per district), the ruling party is reportedly leading in only 4-5 out of 32 districts. The Liberal Democratic Party had previously secured 28 out of these districts in the last election. Prime Minister Ishiba also appealed for support during a campaign in Kagawa Prefecture on the 15th, saying, "Every election is tough, but this one is particularly difficult."


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