Despite the assistance of its coalition ally, Japan’s once potent Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) failed to secure the 233-seat majority required in the influential lower house following the recent weekend parliamentary elections. The LDP, a dominant fixture in Japan’s political landscape since 1955, is enduring severe criticism due to the controversial decision from its latest leader, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, to trigger an unexpected election just three days into his new term. This comes after he defeated stern nationalist Sanae Takaichi on his fifth bid to clinch the presidency of the leading party last month.
A wave of public fury has emerged due to bad economic management, skyrocketing costs and alleged cases of politicians raking in personal gains from a party funding scandal. The LDP’s credibility has also been seriously tarnished by the exposure of many of its member’s associations with the covert Unification Church.
Both the LDP, and the leading opposition firm, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (despite being a long way from obtaining a majority themselves), the main beneficiary of the election, now have 30 days to arrange a coalition capable of governing through negotiations with less influential parties.
Ishiba, resilient in the face of defeat, has declared that he will not bow out. Nevertheless, Japan’s once celebrated political stability is bound to endure significant pressure. All political parties are expected to contend a more competitive upper house election in the forthcoming year.
Any emerging administration will be confronted with monumental issues. Japan’s already lethargic economy depreciated into a state of recession last year, with the yen hitting a four-year nadir during the summer. The country, burdened with considerable debt – a quarter of public expenditure is swallowed by debt repayments – also needs to handle the escalating costs of supporting its rapidly growing senior citizen demographic.
The above challenges are further compounded by increasing pressure to overhaul its defence system extensively and at a massive expense, coupled with the introduction of a new defence policy, amid rising potential threats from China and North Korea. The instability of potential alliances will not aid in stabilising the nation or equip it to effectively manage these challenges.