Japan coalition projected to keep majority, PM's party battered - NHK

Voters prepare to cast their ballots in the lower house election, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at a polling station in Tokyo, Japan October 31, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato

Japan's ruling coalition is projected to stay in power but the party of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is forecast to take a drubbing in an election on Sunday, public broadcaster NHK said, a blow that could mean political instability in the world's third-biggest economy.

It was too close to call whether Kishida's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) would maintain its majority in the lower house of parliament as a single party, according to exit polls, but its coalition with junior partner is forecast to maintain control.

The LDP was expected to win between 212 to 255 seats, NHK said, with 233 needed for the majority.

(Reporting by Tokyo bureau; Editing by William Mallard)