Shigeru Ishiba, during a press conference in Tokyo, October 28, 2024. KIM KYUNG-HOON / AFP Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba recognized, Monday October 28, the “distrust” and “anger” of voters the day after his heavy electoral defeat. But he ruled out resigning, promising “fundamental reforms” within his party marred by a vast financial scandal. Following his appointment as head of government on October 1, Shigeru Ishiba called early legislative elections, hoping to consolidate his power by strengthening the position of his Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), which has governed Japan almost without interruption for seven decades. But, according to projections by the national television channel NHK and pending official results, the PLD did not reach the absolute majority of 233 seats on its own, for the first time since 2009. Worse, these figures suggest that the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komei Party also failed to secure control of half of the 465 seats in the lower house. The PLD won 191 seats and the Komei party twenty-four, according to NHK counts on Monday morning. “The biggest factor [de la défaite]it is the suspicion, the mistrust and the anger which have not faded on the problem of financing and politics”, admitted the Japanese Prime Minister, promising a “fundamental reform” on this subject. Already penalized by the economic situation and high inflation, the PLD suffered from the fallout from a “slush fund” affair within it. Shigeru Ishiba, 67, however, said he wanted to stay in office, in order to avoid creating “a political vacuum”. “I want to fulfill my duty, which is to protect people’s lives, to protect Japan,” he told the press. Conversely, Shinjiro Koizumi, responsible for elections within the PLD, resigned from his position on Monday. No enlargement of the coalition Analysts doubt the ability of the opposition, very divided, to form an alliance itself. Shigeru Ishiba will therefore now have to lead a minority government (without an absolute majority in Parliament), at the risk of having difficulty getting his texts adopted, or look for new coalition partners. He clarified on Monday that he did not wish “at this stage” to expand his coalition, preferring discussions according to the texts with the opposition parties. However, Shigeru Ishiba could see his position challenged within the PLD, certain executives of which, supporters of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, “had been mistreated by Mr. Ishiba and could therefore seize the opportunity to take their revenge”, estimates Yu Uchiyama, professor of political science at the University of Tokyo. But, according to him, “the PLD having lost a considerable number of seats, they could decide to support Ishiba for the moment, thinking that this is not the time to engage in internal disputes”. During the last general elections, in 2021, the PLD obtained a majority with 259 seats in the powerful lower house of Parliament. The Komei party won thirty-two, establishing a comfortable majority. If the official results confirm it, the loss of the majority by the LDP will be the worst result since it lost power in 2009, before being brought back to business in 2012 by a large victory for Shinzo Abe. “PLD-Komei party governance cannot continue” Opinion polls before the election had suggested that in many constituencies the PLD candidates were neck and neck with those of the Constitutional Democratic Party (PDC), the main group opposition, led by popular former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The PDC, the second largest group in Parliament, seems to have made considerable progress, with the NHK counting 148 seats against 96 previously. Le Monde Application La Matinale du Monde Every morning, find our selection of 20 articles not to be missed Download the application “The voters chose the party best able to promote political reforms”, welcomed Yoshihiko Noda on Sunday evening , adding that “PLD-Komei party governance cannot continue”. The legislative elections also mark the progress of smaller groups, with the People’s Democratic Party (center) quadrupling its number of seats, according to NHK. The Reiwa Shinsengumi, a populist party founded by a former actor, would go from three to nine seats after promising to abolish the consumption tax and increase pensions, while the Conservative Party of Japan, anti-immigration and nationalist, won its first three seats. The number of women parliamentarians elected to the lower house could reach a record level of seventy-three, according to public broadcaster NHK. Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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