TOKYO: Japan鈥檚 bruised Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is exploring potential collaboration with other parties after losing his majority in elections, local media reported Tuesday.

Official results showed that Ishiba鈥檚 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner Komeito suffered their worst election result since 2009 in the vote on Sunday.

One major reason was voter anger over a party slush fund scandal that helped sink previous LDP premier Fumio Kishida after three years in office.

Ishiba said Monday he would not quit despite the debacle and indicated he would head a minority government as he was not considering a broader coalition 鈥渁t this point鈥�.

But media reports on Tuesday said the LDP was talking to opposition parties about arrangements to ensure Ishiba can get legislation through 鈥� and also remain prime minister.

Together with the Komeito party, the LDP, which has governed Japan almost non-stop for seven decades, won 215 of parliament鈥檚 465 lower house seats.

One potential kingmaker is the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), whose 28 seats would push the LDP-Komeito coalition over the 233-mark for a majority.

According to the Yomiuri newspaper, Ishiba has decided to seek a 鈥減artial鈥� coalition with the centrist DPP, whose manifesto included subsidies for reducing energy bills.

鈥淚f there is a request for talks between party leaders, there is no reason to reject it, though it depends on what we will discuss,鈥� DPP leader Yuichiro Tamaki said Tuesday.

鈥淭alks between party secretary generals are currently taking place and there are various communications... but I don鈥檛 feel like anything concrete is proceeding,鈥� he said.

FRAGMENTED OPPOSITION

Ishiba is also considering asking the DPP for support when parliament votes on whether he will continue as prime minister, the Yomiuri reported, which could take place on November 11.

Japan鈥檚 parliament has to convene by November 26 鈥� 30 days after the election.

But also likely courting the DPP in a bid for the premiership will be Yoshihiko Noda, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), whose seat tally rose from 96 at the last election to 148.

This appears less likely, given that the opposition comprises eight different parties, while memories of the last tumultuous period of opposition rule between 2009 and 2012 still linger, analysts say.

鈥淭he possibility of a handover of power to the opposition isn鈥檛 zero, but there are far too many opposition parties for any of them to reach a majority,鈥� said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.

If no one wins in the first round of voting for premier, the top two go to a runoff.

The winner of that vote then becomes prime minister, whether or not they have a majority.

 鈥楳ISTRUST AND ANGER鈥�

Ishiba, 67, who only took power on October 1, vowed Monday to implement reforms to overcome 鈥減eople鈥檚 suspicion, mistrust and anger鈥� after the party scandal.

Japanese businesses are more concerned about the potential for parliamentary paralysis holding up reforms aimed at jumpstarting the world鈥檚 fourth-largest economy.

On Monday, the yen hit a three-month low, partly on fears that the political uncertainty will lead the Bank of Japan to slow down on increasing interest rates.

The chairman of the Japan Business Federation on Sunday urged political parties to focus on policies to grow the economy and overcome current challenges.

鈥淚t is difficult to say that sufficient discussions have been made on a mountain of important issues, and it has to be said that issues have been postponed,鈥� the head of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives said.

Syetarn Hansakul from Economist Intelligence said the LDP鈥檚 poor election showing and 鈥渞educed political clout鈥� could dent 鈥渋nvestors鈥� confidence in Japan鈥檚 political and economic outlook鈥�.

鈥淎s long as our own lives don鈥檛 improve, I think everyone has given up on the idea that we can expect anything from politicians,鈥� restaurant worker Masakazu Ikeuchi, 44, said.

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