BOOTED OUT
A big winner was former premier Yoshihiko Noda’s opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) which increased its projected seat tally to 148 from 96 at the last election.
Noda in the campaign pounced on media reports that the LDP was financially supporting district offices headed by figures caught up in the slush fund scandal.
“Voters chose which party would be the best fit to push for political reforms,” Noda said late Sunday, adding that the “LDP-Komeito administration cannot continue”.
Mirroring elections elsewhere, fringe parties did well, with Reiwa Shinsengumi, founded by a former actor, tripling its seats to nine after promising to abolish sales tax and boost pensions.
The anti-immigration and traditionalist Conservative Party of Japan, established in 2023 by nationalist writer Naoki Hyakuta, won its first three seats.
The number of women lawmakers meanwhile reached a record high of 73, according to NHK, but they still make up less than 16 per cent of the legislature.
“I think the outcome was a result of people across Japan wanting to change the current situation,” said voter Takako Sasaki, 44.
ASIAN NATO
Ishiba said before the election that he was planning a new stimulus packaging to ease the pain of rising prices, another contributor to Kishida’s unpopularity.
Another big area of spending is the military, with Kishida having pledged to double defence spending and boost US military ties as a counter to China.
Ishiba has backed the creation of a regional military alliance along the lines of NATO to counter China, although he has cautioned it would “not happen overnight”.
China’s foreign ministry said on Monday it wanted a “constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era”.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/japan-prime-minister-shigeru-ishiba-stay-office-snap-elections-4707011
