"Japan's Ruling Coalition LDP and Komeito Maintain Majority in House of Councillors Seats" (Update)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and its coalition partner, the Komeito Party, are predicted to maintain a majority (125 seats or more) of the total seats in the House of Councillors election held on the 10th. Local media believe that the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which occurred two days before the election on the 8th, likely influenced voters' choices.

Local public broadcaster NHK announced the exit poll results immediately after voting ended at 8 p.m. NHK predicted that out of the 125 seats up for election, the LDP would secure 59 to 69 seats, and the Komeito Party would obtain 10 to 14 seats. The two ruling parties combined are expected to win 69 to 83 seats.

The total number of seats in the House of Councillors is 248 (245 before the election), with a six-year term. Approximately half of the members are elected every three years. The ruling parties currently hold 70 seats with three years remaining in their term (LDP 56 seats, Komeito 14 seats).

According to NHK's exit poll results, the ruling parties are expected to secure 139 to 153 seats out of the total 248 seats in the House of Councillors after the election, maintaining their majority. Before the election, the ruling parties held 139 seats.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Vote counting began at 8 p.m., and as of 6 p.m. on the same day, the interim voter turnout was 27.38%, slightly higher by 0.08 percentage points compared to the turnout at the same time in the previous election.

The LDP campaigned on advancing diplomatic and security policies in this election. They emphasized the need to increase defense spending to more than 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and stressed the early realization of constitutional revision.

The government and ruling parties are considering convening the first extraordinary Diet session after the House of Councillors election on August 3. The election of the House of Councillors' president and vice president, as well as appointments of standing committee chairs, will also be decided through this extraordinary session.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.