TOKYO -- Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party secured a sole majority in the lower house of parliament in Sunday's general election, despite losing a sizable number of seats including several high-profile former cabinet ministers.

Despite the LDP's worst showing in 12 years, the party and junior coalition partner Komeito maintained a comfortable majority. The victory puts Prime Minister Fumio Kishida clear of the low target he set for the ruling camp of winning a simple majority.

"If the coalition is able to keep a majority, I take that as meaning that we have secured a public mandate," Kishida said in televised comments.

The election serves as a public verdict on the government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis and the coalition's near decade in power.

Some senior LDP politicians are struggling to keep their seats, among them former party No. 2 Nobuteru Ishihara, and IT minister Takuya Hirai.

The tough going for some LDP candidates indicates "the government's failure to fully address voter frustration and unease about the COVID pandemic," said LDP secretary general Akira Amari, who lost his seat but stayed in parliament via the proportional representation vote.

Fumio Kishida, center, puts a flower on the name of a candidate on a winners board at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Sunday. (Photo by Hirofumi Yamamoto)

Amari has told Kishida that he intends to step down as secretary-general, which poses a dilemma for the prime minister. Losing Amari's expertise in economic security and energy policy would hinder the administration's ability to make policy in these key fields, but keeping him on despite his high-profile loss could be unpopular with others in the party.

The LDP is likely to win fewer than the 276 seats it held before the dissolution of the lower house on Oct. 14. The party faced a much tougher electoral challenge from a unified opposition, with the Constitutional Democratic Party, the biggest opposition group, forming an electoral coalition with other parties including the Japanese Communist Party.

The CDP is expected to fall short of the 110 seats it held going into the election, but will maintain its status as the biggest opposition force. The party is the successor to the Democratic Party of Japan, which was in power from 2009 to 2012. Many former DPJ cabinet ministers are in the CDP, including its leader, Yukio Edano.

The electoral partnership among the opposition parties "has proved effective to a certain extent," Edano said. "It has underlined the importance of electoral cooperation among opposition parties to achieve change of government."

He said that the CDP will continue its cooperation with other opposition groups in the upcoming parliamentary session on an issue-by-issue basis.

One of the opposition parties that benefited from the LDP's loss of seats is Nippon Ishin no Kai, or Japan Innovation Party, a libertarian group with roots in Osaka. The party's presence could triple from 10 before the election. It is likely to surpass Komeito to become the third-largest party.

"Because the CDP advocated the same distributive policies as the prime minister, it got lost in the shuffle," a senior LDP official said. "Nippon Ishin got the protest votes."

Though the LDP maintained its sole majority, the party's loss of seats could lead it to show more consideration to coalition partner Komeito in making policy. The larger party has been leery of expensive Komeito proposals such as handouts of 100,000 yen ($880) for all children of high school age and younger, but may be forced to compromise to keep the legislative machinery running smoothly.

The election result may put the LDP on firmer footing ahead of next summer's upper house election, which has had some on edge. The party lacks a sole majority in the chamber, relying on Komeito to pass the 50% mark, and substantial losses in that election could hand control to the opposition, dividing the Diet.

The LDP previously lost control of the upper house in 2007, which turned out to be a prelude to a landslide loss in the 2009 general election that pushed the party out of power for a few years.

About two-thirds of the lower house seats are filled by candidates from single-seat constituencies, with the remainder chosen by proportional representation.

The internal affairs ministry said that 20.5 million people voted before the election day, accounting for about 20% of the eligible voters.

Kishida is expected to call a special parliamentary session on Nov. 10 for a vote to reelect him as prime minister. He is likely to keep most of the members of his cabinet and immediately start drafting a major economic stimulus package worth several hundred billion dollars.

One of the key items in the package is expected to be cash payments to people severely affected by the pandemic, including families with children.

Kishida said in his TV appearance that he will travel to Glasgow to attend the U.N. climate summit on Monday and Tuesday for talks with global leaders.

"Japan must fulfill its responsibility regarding climate change, a common challenge to the humanity," Kishida said.

He added that he would like to make an early visit to the U.S. for summit talks with President Joe Biden.