Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative party was set for a major defeat in the Tokyo assembly election today, exit polls showed, as he struggles with a series of setbacks and scandals that have driven down his popularity at the national level.
Former TV anchorwoman Yuriko Koike, who was elected the city’s governor in a landslide last year, was expected to seize a comfortable majority of the 127-seat Tokyo assembly, which the ruling liberal Democratic Party previously controlled but is now bracing for a historic defeat.
While the vote is local, it serves as an important indicator of national political sentiment.
“Forces supporting Koike projected to take majority” of the chamber, national broadcaster NHK said immediately after voting ended at 8:00 PM (1630 IST).
“The lDP set for serious defeat,” and may reduce its seats to a historic low, NHK said.
The broadcaster projected that a coalition under Koike would win 73 to 85 seats in the chamber.
The lDP was projected to drop from 57 to less than 38 seats — the lowest number of seats the conservative party
had held in the capital since 2009.