Japan's ruling party suffers historic defeat in Tokyo assembly election

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - Japan's ruling party suffered a record-low result in Tokyo’s assembly election, a development viewed as a further strain on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's minority government, local media reported Monday.

Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured 22 seats in Sunday's election for the 127-member metropolitan assembly, falling below the previous record low of 23 it garnered in 2017, Kyodo news agency reported.

Tomin First no Kai, a regional party established by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike, won 32 seats, the most in the assembly, reflecting the popularity of her public welfare and child-rearing policies.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the LDP's junior coalition partner, the Komeito party, won 17 and 19 seats, respectively.

The Democratic Party for the People, which recently gained momentum in the national parliament, won nine seats, its first wins in the Tokyo assembly election.

Voter turnout was 47.59%, slightly higher than the previous polls, according to the election commission.

*Writing by Aamir Latif