Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's governing coalition is expected to keep a majority in a parliamentary election Sunday but will lose some seats in a setback for his weeks-old government grappling with a coronavirus-battered economy and regional security challenges, according to exit polls.
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Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito together were expected to win between 239 to 288 seats in the 465-member lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two-chamber Diet, public broadcaster NHK's exit poll showed.
The LDP alone was expected to win 212 to 253 seats, with Komeito gaining 27 to 35 seats, according to the projections.
Their combined seats will exceed a parliamentary majority of 233 – but a loss from 305 seats previously.
"The lower house election is about choosing a leadership," Kishida told NHK. "With the ruling coalition certainly keeping the majority, I believe we received a mandate from the voters."
Kishida, 64, was elected prime minister on Oct. 4 after winning the leadership race in his ruling party, and dissolved the lower house only 10 days after taking office. The party's conservative leaders saw him as a safe status-quo successor to Yoshihide Suga and his influential predecessor Shinzo Abe.
Kishida repeatedly stressed his determination to listen to the people and to address criticism that the nine-year Abe-Suga leadership had fanned corruption, tamed bureaucrats, and muzzled opposing opinions.
The campaign has largely centered on COVID-19 response measures and revitalizing the economy.
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