Japan's political landscape remains unstable following the 27 Oct election. Both PM Shigeru Ishiba's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the main opposition centre-left Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) are seeking to form majority coalitions before the 11 Nov special Diet session to elect a PM. 

• Earlier CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda (PM 2011-12) met with Nobuyuki Baba, leader of the libertarian Ishin no Kai, in an effort to gain the support of the third-largest party in the House of Representatives and oust the LDP.
• However, the choice may not be Baba's to make. Senior figures from Ishin called on Baba to resign following the party's loss of seats in the election. Its seat total fell by three, while the number of votes Ishin recorded fell from 8.0m to 5.1mn. The party will hold an executive meeting on 31 Oct to discuss the election and decide whether a leadership contest is needed.
• The LDP looks to bolster its parliamentary standing by re-admitting five lawmakers who won seats as independents having previously been suspended/resigning due to their role in the slush fund scandal that contributed to former PM Fumio Kishida's downfall.
• In an effort to form its own majority coalition, the LDP Sec-Gen and committee chairs will meet with their counterparts from the centrist Democratic Party for the People (DPP) on 31 Oct.
• All of this comes amid continued speculation on Ishiba's future, with the LDP's disastrous election performance meaning internal opponents on the right-wing of the party could seek his ouster.