(Update) Japan's Ruling Coalition Loses Upper House Majority

   Tokyo, July 21 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition lost its majority in Sunday's election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, intensifying political uncertainty.
   The election defeat deals an additional blow to the coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, which had already lost its majority in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, in the October 2024 election.
   This is the first time since the LDP was established in 1955 that the party has fallen short of a majority in both chambers of the Diet while in power.
   In Sunday's election, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan failed to expand its Upper House presence, while smaller opposition forces Sanseito and the Democratic Party for the People markedly increased their seats thanks to support from voters critical of the LDP-led government.
   Within the LDP, calls for the resignation of Ishiba are mounting. The political situation is likely to be unstable.

(2025/07/21-13:20)

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