Ishiba, 67, called Sunday’s election only days after taking office on Oct 1, aiming to bolster his position and that of his scandal-hit Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan almost continuously for seven decades.
But national broadcaster NHK and other media outlets reported in the hours after polls closed that the LDP – in the party’s worst result since 2009 – together with its long-term junior coalition partner Komeito had fallen short of the 233 seats needed for a majority in Japan’s lower house.
Voters in the world’s fourth-largest economy have been rankled by rising prices and the fallout from a party slush fund scandal that helped sink previous premier Fumio Kishida.
“We are receiving severe judgement,” Ishiba told national broadcaster NHK earlier Sunday while it was still unclear whether the coalition would secure enough seats.
