Chaos and political drama rock early elections in Japan

It’s hard to overstate how rare this is. The LDP has always occupied a safe and stable place in Japanese politics.

The ruling party has a successful track record of governing the country – and when the opposition did come to power in 1993 and 2009, for three years each time, it ended badly.

Since the LDP returned to power in 2012, it has managed to win election after election with virtually no opposition. There has long been resignation over the status quo, and the opposition remains unconvincing to the public.

“I think we (Japanese) are very conservative,” Miyuki Fujisaki, 66, told me a few days before the election.

“We find it very difficult to challenge and make changes. And when one day the ruling party changed (and the opposition came to power), ultimately nothing changed, so we tend to remain conservative,” she added.

Ms. Fujisaki told me she is not sure who to vote for this time, especially with the fundraising scandal looming over the LDP. But since she had always voted for the LDP, she was going to do the same in this election.

The results of this election tell a bigger picture about the state of Japanese politics: a ruling party that has dominated for decades and an opposition that has failed to unite and become a viable alternative when society needs it.

In these elections, the LDP lost its majority. But no one really won.

Japan’s ruling party was defeated at the ballot box – but not so badly that it was kicked out.

Geoffrey Hall, a lecturer at the Kanda University of International Studies, told the BBC that while voters want to hold their politicians accountable at elections, “in the voters’ mind there’s really no one else” they trust to be steering wheel

In these elections, the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), made significant gains. But observers say these results have less to do with voters’ support for the opposition and more to do with dissatisfaction among LDP voters.

“This election appears to be about voters who are fed up with parties and politicians they see as corrupt and dirty. But this is not the case when they want to bring in a new leader,” Mr Hall said.

As a result, Japan will be left with a weakened ruling party and a divided opposition.

Japan has long been seen as a beacon of political stability – a safe haven for investors and a reliable diplomatic partner in an increasingly volatile Asia-Pacific region.

This political chaos in Japan worries not only its public, but also its neighbors and allies.

No matter how the LDP comes to power, it will do so weakened, with its hands tied by concessions to the coalition.

The task of turning around the economy, creating coherent wage and welfare policies, and maintaining overall political stability will not be easy.

It will be even more difficult to regain the trust and respect of a society tired of politics.