The ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and its coalition partner Gong Myoung Party are expected to lose their current majority in the House of Councilors election held on the 20th. There is also a high possibility that Liberal Democratic Party President Shigeru Ishiba may resign, taking responsibility for the election.

Japan's Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru gives a speech at the reception celebrating the 60th anniversary of Japan-Korea diplomatic normalization, hosted by the Korean Embassy in Japan, held at the Hotel New Otani Tokyo on the 19th./Yonhap News

NHK announced the results of the exit poll conducted in collaboration with Yomiuri Shimbun and Nippon TV right after the voting ended at 8 p.m. on the same day. NHK predicted that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party would secure 27 to 41 seats and the coalition Gong Myoung Party would obtain 5 to 12 seats, for a total of 32 to 53 seats.

The Asahi Shimbun exit poll indicated that the Liberal Democratic Party is projected to gain around 34 seats, while the Gong Myoung Party is expected to secure around 7 seats. Ultimately, analyses suggest that it will not be easy for the ruling party to secure even 50 seats in this House of Councilors election.

House of Councilors members serve a six-year term, with 248 members in total, and half of the members are elected every three years. In this election, 125 members will be elected, including one vacant seat. The number of seats for the Liberal Democratic Party and the Gong Myoung Party in the voting target was 52 and 14, respectively, for a total of 66 seats. The ruling party holds 75 seats among the 123 seats that are not subject to this vote.

This election had a strong character of 'mid-term evaluation' for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet. Particularly since he lost the House of Representatives election held last October, discussions about Ishiba's accountability are expected to arise. The Liberal Democratic Party becoming a minority in both the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors marks the first time since it handed over power to the Democratic Party in 2009, 16 years ago. The Liberal Democratic Party also lost in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in June this year.

NHK predicted that the Constitutional Democratic Party would secure 18 to 30 seats, the People's Democratic Party would gain 14 to 21 seats, and the Participation Party would receive 10 to 22 seats. Notably, the far-right-affiliated Participation Party could see its seats increase nearly tenfold from the existing 2.

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