This Sunday, the Liberal Democratic Party suffered a historic defeat in the general election ¡ª although Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to stay in power as long as he can.

The party¡¯s humiliating rout was presaged just three days before the election by reports of the LDP¡¯s unbelievable decision to give ?20 million to local branches led by candidates who were denied party endorsement due to their involvement in a slush funds scandal.

The political situation in Japan is now highly uncertain.