Polls close in Japan, ruling coalition 'may' face difficulty in maintaining majority in upper house

The ruling bloc is at risk of losing its majority, national broadcaster NHK projected immediately after the polls closed. The results are expected late Sunday.

Voting began at 7 am local time (2200GMT Saturday) and ended at 8 pm (1100GMT).

Nearly 45,000 polling stations were set up nationwide to elect 125 lawmakers, a crucial test for Ishiba-led ruling coalition, which lost its grip on the lower house last year.

As of 4 pm, voter turnout was recorded at 22.42%, a decrease of 0.57 percentage points compared to the upper house election in 2022, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.

A record 26.18 million people, or 25.12% of total voters, had already cast their ballots under the early voting system, according to the Internal Affairs Ministry.

The number surpassed the previous record set in the 2022 upper house election, when about 19.61 million people voted early, accounting for 18.68% of eligible voters.

The ruling coalition, comprising Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner Komeito, currently holds 75 seats, but to maintain a majority in the upper house, it needs to win at least 50 seats from the 125 up for grabs.

The last time the LDP lost its majority in the upper house was 2007.

The election took place under the spotlight of key issues, including rising prices, regional security, ties with the US, foreign policy as well as the future of the country’s strained social security system.

The upper house consists of 248 members, who serve six-year terms, with elections every three years to fill half of the seats. This year, voters elected the usual 124 members, with an additional seat left vacant.

Of 125 seats, just 75 constituency seats are contested, while the remaining 50 will be elected through proportional representation.