Via the BBC: Japan’s PM accepts ‘utter defeat’
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has accepted his ruling Liberal Democratic Party has suffered “utter defeat” in polls for the upper house of parliament.But as votes were being counted, Mr Abe said he had no intention of resigning.
Projections suggest the LDP will lose control of the chamber for the first time in more than 50 years – handing a landslide victory to the opposition.
A remarkable outcome, in terms of Japanese political history.
The seat counts at the moment:
Half of the 242 seats in the House of Councillors were being contested.The LDP-led ruling coalition currently controls 132 seats. It needs to win 64 of the 121 seats that are up for grabs in order to retain its majority.
But Japanese TV reports suggest the LDP has fallen far short of its target, winning between 31 and 43 seats out of the 76 it was defending.
No word at this point on the fate of the Last Samurai.
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July 29th, 2024 at 3:36 pm
Fujimori (“The Last Samurai”) almost certainly has been defeated. He is running fifth in preference votes on the national list, and there is no way the PNP will win that many list seats.
July 30th, 2024 at 9:06 am
Upheval
Abe has been a staunch US ally but the election results were more likely due to economic factors and recent corruption scandals in Japan’s ruling party. Maybe the Japanese people finally had enough of politics as usual.