The success of new political parties focused on wages, immigration and an unresponsive political elite highlights the frustrations of many working-age people in Japan.

Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito were short three seats to maintain a majority in the 248-seat upper house in Sunday's vote.

Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, which Prime Minister Ishiba leads, secured 47 seats in parliament, short of the 50 it needs for a majority.

The loss on Sunday left the Liberal Democrats a minority party in both houses of Parliament, while two new nationalist parties surged.

Koeda Yoshiyuki, a 51-year-old supporter, called Sanseito “the only party that can truly tackle the big problems Japan faces today”. Sanseito relied on social media, especially YouTube, to reach voters disheartened with politics-as-usual.

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru and his Liberal Democratic Party were projected to lose their majority coalition government in Japan's Upper House of Parliament on Monday.

It won its first seat in the upper house in 2022, following a campaign in which it fashioned itself as an "anti-globalist" party. Supporters at rallies spoke of a world where a cabal of globalists and financial institutions were conspiring to lord over powerless citizens.

In a significant political shift, Prime Minister Ishiba's coalition lost its majority in Japan's upper house, marking the first such loss for the LDP since 1955. The far-right Sanseito party gained traction with anti-immigrant rhetoric,