Early poll results show Ishiba's LDP falling short of majority

TOKYO - Japanese voters delivered a stinging rebuke to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a general election on Oct 27, with results reflecting a hung Parliament.

- Walter Sim

A special Diet session must be held within 30 days of the election to elect the prime minister, as bound by the Constitution. But whether this will again be Mr Ishiba, who had taken office only on Oct 1, is a big question mark.

What is clear, however, is that the 67-year-old is on very shaky ground after gravely misreading public anger over a slush fund scandal as he took a gamble in calling a snap election one year before Lower House lawmaker terms were to expire.

Final results are only due early on Oct 28, but preliminary results show that the LDP-Komeito coalition, which held 279 seats in the dissolved Parliament, will fall short of the 233 seats needed for a majority in the 465-seat Lower House.

According to a tally by public broadcaster NHK as at press time, the LDP had secured 184 seats and Komeito, 22, for a total of 206 seats.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) won 143 seats, with another 87 held by smaller opposition groups and independents. Another 29 seats remained undeclared.

Voter turnout was pegged at around 53.7 per cent, according to Kyodo News' calculations.