Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba makes a campaign speech in Hiroshima on Oct. 24. (Ryohei Miyawaki)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is certain to lose its single-party majority in the Lower House, as voters on Oct. 27 punished the long-dominant force over its “money in politics” scandal.

The last time the LDP lost its majority in the 465-seat chamber was in 2009, when it was ousted from power by the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan.

The LDP held 247 seats before campaigning started on Oct. 15. It is projected to lose at least 15 seats.

The governing party entered the election mired in scandal.

Party lawmakers were found to have failed to properly report large amounts of proceeds from fund-raising parties held by their intraparty factions.

Then Prime Minister Fumio Kishida effectively stepped down over the scandal and what critics said was his weak response to prevent a recurrence.

His replacement as LDP president and prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, decided not to give official LDP endorsements in the election to certain politicians who were involved in the funding scandal.

But the LDP faced a fresh backlash after it was found to have provided 20 million yen ($132,000) to the party branches headed by those non-endorsed candidates, the same amount that other candidates running on the party ticket received.

Before the vote, Ishiba said the victory bar is winning a majority of seats between the two coalition partners.

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