The 27th Japanese House of Councillors (Upper House) election was held on the 20th, with a voter turnout of 58.51%. Ballots were counted on the day. By the 21st, all seat numbers had been finalized: the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito suffered a major defeat, winning only 47 contested seats. Together with their 75 non-contested seats, they failed to reach the 125-seat majority, losing their Upper House advantage. LDP leader and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stated that they must accept the harsh situation with humility and sincerity, and indicated he would not resign as Prime Minister.
Counting results show the LDP’s contested seats dropped sharply from 52 to 39, and Komeito’s from 14 to 8. Among the opposition, the Constitutional Democratic Party maintained its 22 contested seats, the Democratic Party for the People surged from 4 to 17, the Sansei Party jumped from 1 to 14, Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) increased from 6 to 7, and the Japanese Communist Party dropped from 7 to 3. Reiwa Shinsengumi went from 2 to 3 seats. In addition, the Social Democratic Party won 1 seat, the Conservative Party won 2, the political group "Team Mirai" won 1, and independents won 8. Party To Create Together, the political group "NHK Party" and "Path of Revival" all failed to win any seats.
This Upper House election contested a total of 125 seats—124 regular contested seats plus a by-election for one non-contested seat in the Tokyo constituency. Combined with the pre-existing Upper House seats, the ruling coalition now holds 122 seats, while opposition parties and independent candidates together have 125 seats. The largest opposition party, Constitutional Democratic Party leader Yoshihiko Noda, declared he would consider submitting a no-confidence motion against the Ishiba Cabinet.
The number of women elected to the Upper House this time surpassed 35 in 2022, achieving a record high. Taiwanese-Japanese former councillor Renho was elected for the fifth time as a Constitutional Democratic Party proportional representation candidate, marking her return to national politics after about a year. The voter turnout this time was also 6.46% higher than the previous Upper House election in 2022, reaching between 55% and 60% for the first time since 2010’s 57.92%. Early voting performed well, with about 6.56 million more people than the last election, reaching around 26.18 million and setting a new record.