Japan’s Ruling Coalition Likely to Secure Lower House Majority with Addition of 3 Independent Lawmakers

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:55 JST, November 28, 2025

The ruling bloc of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party is expected to secure a majority in the House of Representatives, as three independent lower house members are in final negotiations to join the LDP group, according to sources.

If realized, the ruling bloc would have 233 lawmakers in the lower house, giving it a majority for the first time in about a year.

The three lawmakers are: Takeshi Saiki, who has been elected three times and was elected in the Hokuriku-Shinetsu proportional representation segment in the latest election; Tadashi Morishima, who has been elected twice in Osaka Constituency No. 2; and Hiroki Abe, who has been elected twice in the Kyushu proportional representation segment.

The three are members of political group Kaikaku no Kai, which they formed after being expelled from the JIP in September.

They may join the LDP group as early as December.

The LDP has been in talks with the three lawmakers, who voted for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in October’s prime ministerial election, aiming to restore the ruling coalition’s majority. Securing a majority would allow the ruling bloc to pass bills and budgets in the lower house without the cooperation of opposition parties.

However, as the LDP and JIP only hold 119 seats in the House of Councillors, six short of the majority, cooperating with opposition parties is essential in the upper house.

The LDP suffered losses in the October 2024 lower house election and the July upper house election this year, resulting in the ruling coalition losing majorities in both houses.

Although the JIP became the LDP’s coalition partner in October, the ruling bloc is still a minority.