Japanese Prime Minister seeks support

Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon Agence France-Presse On October 28, 2024, Shigeru Ishiba said he would stay in office despite his party's loss of majority, saying he would not create a “political vacuum.”

Agence France-Presse in Tokyo

Posted at 12:36 am

• Asia

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who ruled out resigning after his severe defeat in Sunday’s parliamentary elections and loss of his majority, is seeking to reach an agreement with other parties to expand his coalition, according to media reports.

According to official results announced Tuesday, the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has been in power almost without interruption since its founding in 1955, and its ally the center-right Komeito won a total of 215 seats in the 465-seat lower house, insufficient to secure an absolute majority (233 seats).

Local media reports are reporting talks between the prime minister and several opposition parties.

The Democratic People's Party (DPP, center) is one of the potential “kingmakers,” with its 28 seats won, which added to those of the coalition would give it a majority.

According to the Yomiuri daily, Mr. Ishiba has decided to seek a “partial” agreement with the DPP, whose program includes subsidies to reduce Japanese people's energy bills.

“If there is a request for talks”

“If there is a request for talks between party leaders, there is no reason to reject it, although it depends on what we are going to discuss,” DPP leader Yuichiro commented on Tuesday. Tamaki.

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Mr. Ishiba, who was elected prime minister on Oct. 1, is also considering seeking the DPP’s support in a parliamentary vote on whether to continue as prime minister, which could take place on Nov. 11 — and in any case, within 30 days of the election, according to the Yomiuri.

Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), which saw its seat count increase from 96 to 148 on Sunday, is also likely to court the DDP to support his own bid for prime minister.

Voters came down hard on the LDP on Sunday, in part because of a “slush fund” scandal that has erupted within the party.

Japanese have also been scalded by rising consumer prices for more than two years, and revelations about the LDP’s ties to the Unification Church (“Moon Sect”), in the wake of the 2022 assassination of former leader Shinzo Abe.

The setback for the party “is the result of the Japanese people’s desire to change the current situation,” said Takako Sasaki, a 44-year-old office worker.

“Foreigners are very happy to visit Japan because of its infrastructure and cleanliness,” she told AFP.

“But it’s the people who work in Japan who keep it clean,” so it’s “very difficult” for locals to see salaries almost stagnate, she said.

In Itabashi, a 47-year-old housewife who declined to give her name, in northern Tokyo, says she is fed up with the ruling party.

“The slush fund affair didn't bother me too much. “It was more a buildup of long-standing frustrations with the LDP,” she said, adding that she voted for a small opposition party almost by elimination.

Turnover in Sunday's election was just over 50 percent, but “there was a high level of frustration among the general public,” said Yutaka Ikeda, 77.

“They didn't listen to the people”

Inflation, concerns about children's education and job stability for young people were among the main reasons for rejection of the party, he said.

“I think they suffered a loss as well as “important because they didn't listen to the people,” Mr. Ikeda said. “For a long time, they played politics by placing themselves at the center.”

“As long as our own lives don't improve, I think everyone gives up on the idea that there's anything to expect from politicians,” said Masakazu Ikeuchi, a 44-year-old restaurant worker.

Shigeru Ishiba acknowledged voters' “suspicion, distrust and anger” Monday after the slap in the face at the polls, promising “fundamental reform” on “the issue of funding and politics.”