Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) leader Yukio Edano, left, and the party's Secretary-General Tetsuro Fukuyama put up name boards of candidates projected to win seats in the general election, in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Oct. 31, 2021. (Mainichi/Naoaki Hasegawa)

       TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japanese opposition party leaders said Sunday their strategy of coordinating candidates to counter the ruling bloc paid off in the lower house election, the first nationwide test of new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's popularity.

       Five opposition parties -- the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Democratic Party for the People, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party and Reiwa Shinsengumi -- backed the same candidates in over 70 percent of the 289 constituency contests.

       Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who heads the governing Liberal Democratic Party, said during a program on public broadcaster NHK that the election was "tough for the LDP as the opposition parties had unified candidates in many constituencies."

       The ruling party won a majority in the election, which came after the four-year term of House of Representatives lawmakers expired on Oct. 21. But it is projected to lose some seats from the 276 it held before the election.

       "Our strategy produced certain results," CDPJ leader Yukio Edano said during an NHK program. "We were neck-and-neck with candidates supported by the ruling coalition."

       The major opposition party has taken issue with the government's coronavirus response and "Abenomics," an economic policy package that he said had made only a fraction of people rich.

       Ruling party lawmakers criticized the opposition parties for forming an alliance for the election, irrespective of their difference positions on key issues such as security.

       JCP Chairman Kazuo Shii said the opposition parties joining forces clearly has its effects.

       "It's meaningful that we fought together to achieve a change of government. It won't end here. We will try again and for a third time," Shii said.

       Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, suggested the ruling coalition's criticism was off the mark as his party would not waver on diplomacy and security that form the foundation of Japan.

       "I felt growing hopes for our policies and stance," Tamaki said.

       The ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito held 305 of the 465 lower house seats before Sunday's vote but was expected to lose some.

       The election was the first since 2017 under Shinzo Abe, who was prime minister between 2012 and 2020. His successor Yoshihide Suga was in office for a year before Kishida, who now heads the LDP.

       With more seats likely won, the Japan Innovation Party, an opposition party that did not join the five others, was apparently buoyed by the popularity of deputy leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, who as Osaka governor led the western prefecture's anti-COVID-19 measures.

       The Japan Innovation Party is much closer to the LDP than the opposition bloc on such issues as constitutional reform, an elusive goal for the ruling party.

       "His popularity is comparable to a pop idol," a senior party official said, saying it exceeds that of the party's founder Toru Hashimoto.

       The party's rules state that a leadership election must be held within 90 days of a lower house election in principle. Leader Ichiro Matsui and Yoshimura said Sunday that they would not run for the top job.

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