Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said he intends to remain in office despite his party's crushing defeat in yesterday's election, stressing that he does not want to create a "political vacuum," AFP reported, citing BTA.
Ishiba called snap elections after coming to power on October 1, hoping to strengthen the position of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled Japan almost continuously for seven decades. According to national television forecasts before the official results were announced, however, the LDP failed to achieve a majority of 233 seats on its own – for the first time since 2009.
An even more serious problem is that the ruling coalition of the LDP and the small party "Komeito" also failed to secure control of half of the 465 seats in the lower house of parliament. Japanese TV reported that the LDP won 191 seats, and the "Komeito" – 24.
"The biggest factor in the defeat is the suspicions, mistrust and anger that have not faded over the problem of political funding," Ishiba admitted this morning and promised "fundamental reform" for that matter.
The LDP, which is already suffering from economic difficulties and high inflation, was also affected by the consequences of the "black cash" scandal, AFP recalls. However, Ishiba, 67, said he wished to remain in office to prevent the creation of a "political vacuum". "I want to do my duty – to protect people's lives and protect Japan", he noted to the media.
In contrast, LDP election chief Shinjiro Koizumi resigned today.
"At this stage I am not considering the formation of a coalition. I think we should start with in-depth discussions that will allow us to humbly accept the participation of MPs who are not part of the coalition through text-by-text discussions," the prime minister specified.