Photo/Illutration A polling place for the Lower House election in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward on Oct. 27 (Hikaru Uchida)

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party was headed for a major defeat in the Oct. 27 Lower House election, an Asahi Shimbun exit poll showed.

The party looked set to win around 185 seats, a sharp fall from the 247 seats it held.

Junior coalition partner Komeito is projected to win 26 seats, down from the 32 seats it held.

That would give the parties about 210 seats, falling short of the 233 needed for a majority.

In total, 465 seats were up for grabs.

The outcome marks the first time since 2009, when a change of government occurred, for the ruling coalition to fall short of a majority.

Twelve candidates who were involved in a funding scandal ran as independent candidates. Only about four look likely to win seats.

But even including them, the LDP and Komeito-coalition is expected to fall short of a majority.

The LDP is likely to lose about 60 seats, by winning only 129 or so seats in the electoral districts and 56 or so seats in the proportional districts.

Komeito is also likely to lose seats before the election.

The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is likely to win about 152 seats, up more than 50 seats from the 98 seats it held before.

On the other hand, the second largest opposition Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) is expected to win about 35 seats, down from the 44 seats it held.

The Democratic Party for the People is expected to win about 30 seats, mainly in the proportional districts. The figure is a big jump from the 7 seats it held.

Reiwa Shinsengumi is also expected to increase its seats significantly, from 3 to 10 or so.

The Conservative Party of Japan, a new political organization, is set to win at least a seat.

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