Parliament of Japan Holds Five-Day Emergency Meeting
Japan's Upper House Shakes up Politics After Election Shifts Power
After the July 20, 2025, election for Japan's House of Councillors (Upper House), significant changes occurred in the leadership landscape of the Diet, Japan's parliament. For the first time since the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was founded in 1955, the ruling coalition of the LDP and its junior partner Komeito lost their majority in the Upper House.
The LDP took 39 seats and Komeito 8, falling short of the majority threshold of 125 seats in total. This loss marked a major political shift, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, leader of the LDP, who pledged to continue leading but now faces greater challenges passing legislation.
The opposition, primarily the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), made significant gains, winning 22 seats and pushing for policies like reducing or abolishing the consumption tax to address inflation-driven economic concerns affecting voters.
Additionally, smaller parties on the right, such as the far-right Sanseito party, surged to become the fourth-largest party in the Upper House with 15 seats. Their success introduced stronger nationalist and anti-globalist rhetoric into mainstream politics, influencing the parliamentary dynamic and pressuring the ruling coalition to respond to voter anxieties around immigration and social change.
Despite losing their majority, the LDP continues to hold key positions in the Upper House. The LDP's Takao Makino retained the post of chief of the Rules and Administration Committee, and Yusuke Nakanishi was chosen as head of the Budget Committee. Both the Rules and Administration Committee and the Budget Committee will continue to be chaired by LDP lawmakers.
However, the election of Manabu Matsuda from Sanseito as chair of the Upper House Discipline Committee marks a shift in the power dynamics in the Upper House. The up-and-coming party Sanseito obtained the post of committee chair in the Upper House Discipline Committee for the first time.
The Diet, Japan's parliament, was convened for a five-day extraordinary session on Friday, August 1, 20XX, despite the LDP and Komeito no longer having a majority in the House of Councillors. Masakazu Sekiguchi from the LDP was re-elected as president of the Upper House during a plenary meeting on Friday morning.
The extraordinary session of the Diet is taking place amidst the more fragmented Diet with a weaker ruling coalition under Ishiba and a stronger, more diverse opposition presence. This has injected instability and uncertainty into Japan’s legislative process post-election.
[1] Jiji Press, "LDP, Komeito lose majority in Upper House," July 21, 2025. [2] The Mainichi, "Sanseito makes gains in Upper House election," July 21, 2025. [3] The Asahi Shimbun, "CDP gains seats in Upper House election," July 21, 2025. [4] Kyodo News, "Japan's Upper House election results," July 21, 2025.
- The general news covers the significant shift in Japan's political landscape, as the unique victory of the opposition parties and the surge of smaller parties, like Sanseito, have increased the demand for a change in the consumer tax policy-and-legislation.
- In this unusual political atmosphere, the CDP, driven by economic concerns, seeks policies to address inflation, while the Sanseito party, backed by nationalist and anti-globalist sentiments, insists on immigration reforms and social change, putting pressure on the photograph (Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba) to adapt his governance style.
