Seoul Gazette - Bruised Japan PM scrambles for support

Official results showed that Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner Komeito suffered their worst election result since 2009 in the vote on Sunday.

One major reason was voter anger over a party slush fund scandal that helped sink previous LDP premier Fumio Kishida after three years in office.

Ishiba said Monday he would not quit despite the debacle and indicated he would head a minority government as he was not considering a broader coalition "at this point".

But media reports on Tuesday said the LDP was talking to opposition parties about arrangements to ensure Ishiba can get legislation through -- and also remain prime minister.

Together with the Komeito party, the LDP, which has governed Japan almost non-stop for seven decades, won 215 of parliament's 465 lower house seats.

One potential kingmaker is the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), whose 28 seats would push the LDP-Komeito coalition over the 233-mark for a majority.

According to the Yomiuri newspaper, Ishiba has decided to seek a "partial" coalition with the centrist DPP, whose manifesto included subsidies for reducing energy bills.

"If there is a request for talks between party leaders, there is no reason to reject it, though it depends on what we will discuss," DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki said Tuesday.

"Talks between party secretary generals are currently taking place and there are various communications... but I don't feel like anything concrete is proceeding," he said.

- Fragmented opposition -

Ishiba is also considering asking the DPP for support when parliament votes on whether he will continue as prime minister, the Yomiuri reported, which could take place on November 11.

Japan's parliament has to convene by November 26 -- 30 days after the election.

But also likely courting the DPP in a bid for the premiership will be Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), whose seat tally rose from 96 at the last election to 148.

This appears less likely, given that the opposition comprises eight different parties, while memories of the last tumultuous period of opposition rule between 2009 and 2012 still linger, analysts say.

"The possibility of a handover of power to the opposition isn't zero, but there are far too many opposition parties for any of them to reach a majority," said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.

If no one wins in the first round of voting for premier, the top two go to a runoff.

The winner of that vote then becomes prime minister, whether or not they have a majority.

- 'Mistrust and anger' -

Ishiba, 67, who only took power on October 1, vowed Monday to implement reforms to overcome "people's suspicion, mistrust and anger" after the party scandal.

Japanese businesses are more concerned about the potential for parliamentary paralysis holding up reforms aimed at jumpstarting the world's fourth-largest economy.

On Monday, the yen hit a three-month low, partly on fears that the political uncertainty will lead the Bank of Japan to slow down on increasing interest rates.

The chairman of the Japan Business Federation on Sunday urged political parties to focus on policies to grow the economy and overcome current challenges.

"It is difficult to say that sufficient discussions have been made on a mountain of important issues, and it has to be said that issues have been postponed," the head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives said.

Syetarn Hansakul from Economist Intelligence said the LDP's poor election showing and "reduced political clout" could dent "investors' confidence in Japan's political and economic outlook".

"As long as our own lives don't improve, I think everyone has given up on the idea that we can expect anything from politicians," restaurant worker Masakazu Ikeuchi, 44, told AFP.

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I.Jang--SG