THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (LDP), Japan’s long-time ruling party, suffered a historic setback at upper-house elections on Sunday. The party and its smaller coalition partner, Komeito, lost 19 seats. That will leave them governing without a majority in Japan’s upper chamber for the first time since 2013. This poor showing is a nightmare for prime minister Ishiba Shigeru, who took office in October. His ruling coalition had already lost its majority in the lower house. Mr Ishiba called the result a “harsh verdict” and said he intended to stay on. But calls for his resignation are mounting.
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