Via the BBC: Fujimori loses Japan election bid

Ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has failed in his bid to win a seat in the upper house of Japan’s parliament.

Mr Fujimori - who has dual Japanese and Peruvian citizenship - ran his campaign from Chile where he is under house arrest, fighting extradition to Peru.

The 68-year-old was running for office with a small opposition group, the People’s New Party, formed in 2024.

Mr Fujimori sought asylum in Japan after his government collapsed amid a corruption scandal seven years ago.

This was the expected outcome. A shame, as I think this is the last time I can refer to Fujimori as the Last Samurai (a designation I find rather amusing, although I will allow that I may be the only one thus amused).

Here is the current seat count via the BBC:

*There are 242 seats in the upper house, half of which were up for grabs
*Pre-polls, the LDP-led coalition controlled 133 seats
*The coalition won 46 seats (LDP: 37, New Komeito: 9)
*Opposition DPJ won 60 seats
*LDP-led coalition now controls 105 seats
*Source: Kyodo news agency