Japan’s ruling coalition is certain to retain its majority in the House of Representatives following Sunday’s general election, according to Kyodo News exit polls, paving the way for new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to remain in power.
Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller partner Komeito apparently secured at least 233 of the 465 seats in the powerful lower chamber of parliament, defeating opposition parties that had sought to gain the support of voters dissatisfied with the government’s coronavirus response and income disparities.
But the LDP appears certain to fall significantly short of the 276 seats it held prior to the election. Kishida has said he will claim victory if the ruling coalition retains a majority.
Combined photo shows Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) and Yukio Edano, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, making stump speeches in Machida in Tokyo and the capital's Tachikawa, respectively, on Oct 30, 2021, a day before a general election. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The Japan Innovation Party, an opposition group that did not join the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan-led alliance and agrees with the LDP on some issues including constitutional reform, is set to add significantly to the 11 seats it held prior to the election, according to the exit polls.
Polling stations across the country closed at 8 p.m. and ballots will be counted into the night, with the final outcome hinging on dozens of battleground constituencies where candidates were neck-and-neck.
Facing his first major test since taking office on Oct. 4, Kishida had promised to spur growth in the world’s third-largest economy while redistributing the spoils to the middle class under his vision of “new capitalism.”
The government will secure more hospital beds to treat COVID-19 patients in preparation for a possible sixth wave of infections and will draw up a stimulus package within the year to help people and businesses hit hard by the pandemic, he has said.
In addition to deciding whether Kishida gets a public mandate, the election was also partly seen as a referendum on nearly nine years of LDP-led government under Kishida’s predecessors, Shinzo Abe and Yoshihide Suga.
The CDPJ and other opposition parties argue the government has botched its COVID-19 response, and that the Abenomics policy mix has only served to widen income disparities by boosting corporate earnings and share prices while failing to achieve higher wages.
Photo shows the hands of a person listening to a politician making a stump speech in Tachikawa in Tokyo on Oct. 30, 2021, a day before a general election. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Media polls had suggested the ruling coalition will retain its majority in the lower house, which has special powers not given to the upper chamber, the House of Councillors, including having the final say in electing the prime minister, passing state budgets and ratifying international treaties.
Of the lower house seats, 289 will be decided in single-member constituencies under a first-past-the-post system. Another 176 will be filled by proportional representation, in which parties are awarded seats based on how many votes they get in 11 regional blocks.
A Kyodo News survey conducted earlier this week showed LDP candidates were in close battles with opposition rivals in around 70 single-member constituencies, with about 40 percent of voters still undecided.
The CDPJ, which had 110 seats before Kishida dissolved the lower chamber on Oct. 14, has challenged the ruling coalition by allying with other opposition parties, including the Japanese Communist Party, to get behind the same candidates in competitive constituencies.
The opposition parties called for lowering the consumption tax to lessen the burden on low- and middle-class households, allow married couples to take separate surnames and recognize same-sex marriage.
They also argued for abandoning nuclear energy in favor of renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions.
The ruling coalition, meanwhile, criticized the CDPJ and its allies for banding together despite their differing stances on foreign and security policies, saying such discrepancies make them unfit to govern.
The CDPJ put the Japan-U.S. alliance at the core of its foreign and security policy platforms, but the JCP called for abolishing the security treaty between Tokyo and Washington — a scenario that would please China, Russia and North Korea.
The LDP aims to double defense spending to around 2 percent of gross domestic product to deal with Beijing’s military buildup and missile threats from Pyongyang.
The LDP says it will consider acquiring the capability to launch strikes on enemy bases as part of efforts to boost deterrence.
A vote is cast in the House of Representatives election in Osaka on Oct. 31, 2021. (Kyodo)
People listen to a politician making a stump speech in Tokyo's Shinjuku area on Oct. 30, 2021, a day before a general election. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
