Oct 29 (News On Japan) - Political parties in Japan are jockeying to form a majority in the Diet following an election that dealt a severe blow to the ruling coalition. A vote to name the prime minister is due to take place in the legislature in a few weeks.
Sunday's Lower House election saw the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito lose more than 60 seats, as well as their majority, in the chamber.
Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, who heads the LDP, has indicated that he will remain in his post and maintain the coalition government. He said national politics should not be allowed to stall for a single moment, and that he hopes to fulfill his duties.
The LDP currently does not intend to expand the coalition. It plans to cooperate with opposition parties on a policy-by-policy basis.
The party is reaching out to the opposition behind the scenes to secure Ishiba's election as prime minister at a special Diet session. The LDP has presented a plan to Komeito to convene the session by mid-November, taking upcoming diplomatic schedules into account.
The largest opposition Constitutional Democratic Party gained 50 seats in the election, and is asking other parties to vote for its leader, Noda Yoshihiko. Noda has indicated that he will devote his efforts to building a team to counter the ruling coalition.
Another opposition party, the Democratic Party for the People, made significant strides in the election by quadrupling its number of seats to 28.
The party says its leader, Tamaki Yuichiro, has been approached by an executive of the LDP over the Diet vote for prime minister.
Tamaki says his party is open to voting for the leader of another party if that would lead to the implementation of the policies it promised during the election campaign.
