TOKYO: Japan’s ruling coalition will lose parliamentary majority, exit polls The general elections on Sunday, October 27 showed this:It increases uncertainty about the structure of the government of the world’s fourth largest economy.

A poll by national broadcaster NHK showed that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan for nearly all of its post-war history, and its junior coalition partner Komeito are poised to win 174 to 254 of the 465 seats in the lower house. of the parliament of Japan.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) is expected to win 128 to 191 seats. The outcome could force the LDP or CDPJ to enter into power-sharing agreements with other parties to form a government.

The uncertainty comes nine days before US voters elect a new president and as Japan faces economic headwinds and increasingly tense relations with neighboring China.

A poll by Nippon TV showed the ruling coalition would win 198 seats to the CDPJ’s 157 seats as voters punished Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s party for a financing scandal and inflation; this number was well below the 233 seats needed to achieve a majority.

Shinjiro Koizumi, one of the LDP’s election chiefs, said, “I think these results are the result of the brutal decision made on the LDP… due to various factors, including the fact that we have not been able to resolve the political money issue since two winters ago.” the chief told NHK.

After being elected party leader last month, Ishiba called for early elections, hoping to win public office to become prime minister. His predecessor, Fumio Kishida, resigned after his support waned due to financial difficulties and a scandal over unregistered donations to lawmakers.

The LDP has held an absolute majority since returning to power in 2012 after a brief opposition rule.

Polls suggest deals with smaller parties like the People’s Democratic Party (DPP) or Japan Innovation Party could be key to whoever emerges victorious.

According to NHK’s exit poll, the DPP is expected to win 20 to 33 seats and the Japan Innovation Party is expected to win 28 to 45 seats.

However, both propose policies that contradict the LDP line.

The DPP has called for Japan’s 10 percent sales tax to be halved until real wages rise, a policy not endorsed by the LDP, while the Innovation Party has promised tougher donation rules to clean up politics.

The Innovation Party opposes further rate hikes, and the DPP leader said the Bank of Japan may have been hasty in raising rates, while the central bank wants to gradually wean Japan off decades of massive monetary stimulus.

Political wrangling could roil markets and create headaches for the Bank of Japan if Ishiba chooses a partner that favors keeping interest rates near zero when the central bank wants to gradually raise interest rates.

Japanese stocks fell 2.7 percent on the benchmark Nikkei index last week after opinion polls showed the ruling coalition could lose its majority.