INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
three-month low as analysts prepared for days, or possibly weeks, of political wrangling to form a government and potentially a change of
leader.That comes as the country faces economic headwinds, a tense security situation fuelled by an assertive China and nuclear-armed North
Korea, and a week before U.S
took 215 seats in the lower house of parliament, down from 279 seats, as voters punished the incumbents over a funding scandal and a
Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), had 148 seats, up from 98 previously, but also still well short of the 233 majority.As
mandated by the constitution, the parties now have 30 days to figure out a grouping that can govern, and there remains uncertainty over how
he will survive to lead a new government as prime minister ..
is scheduled to hold a press conference at 2 p.m
Ahead of the election, the LDP had been planning to convene parliament on Nov
7 to confirm the prime minister, according to Japanese media including Jiji and the Yomiuri newspaper.CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda has said he
would work with other parties to try and oust the incumbents, though analysts see this as a more remote possibility.The LDP has ruled Japan
for almost all of its post-war history and the result marked its worst election since it briefly lost power in 2009 to a precursor of the
CDPJ.SCANDAL-TAINTEDIshiba, picked in a close-fought race to lead the LDP late last month, called the snap poll a year before it was due in
an effort to secure a public mandate.His initial ratings suggested he may be able to capitalise on his personal popularity, but like his
predecessor Fumio Kishida he was undone by resentment over his handling of a scandal involving unrecorded donations to LDP
But days before the vote, a newspaper affiliated with the Japan Communist Party reported that the party had provided campaign funds to
branches headed by non-endorsed candidates.The story was picked up widely by Japanese media despite Ishiba saying the money could not be
used by non-endorsed candidates
the election.Support from smaller parties, such as the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) or the Japan Innovation Party, who won 28 and
38 seats respectively, could now be key for the LDP.DPP chief Yuichiro Tamaki has not ruled out some cooperation with the LDP-led coalition,
but Innovation Party head Nobuyuki Baba has rejected the idea.
Both propose policies that could be challenging for the LDP and the Bank
two parties to try and get them to just kind of join their side
stable government centred on the LDP-Komeito coalition to steer an economy that faced urgent tasks such as boosting energy security and
surpassing 54 set at the 2009 election.Source: Reuters--Agencies
