Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government suffered a deep blow in an upper house election Sunday, as exit polls showed it set to lose its combined majority.
            
Sagging support for Kan's Democratic Party over a sales tax hike proposal pushed voters to the opposition Liberal Democrats and a number of smaller parties.
            
Kan made a last-ditch effort to boost fortunes in the final days of the campaign, but media polls predicting a weak result for the DPJ proved correct.
            
[Naoto Kan, Japanese Prime Minister]:            
"I think my message got across to the voters through the campaign, so now it's all up to the voters to judge. My feelings are mixed with hope and anxiety." 
           
The premier, Japan's fifth in three years, had tried to sell the nation on reducing its near $10 trillion mountain of debt to avoid a Greek-style crisis.
             
Voters, though, were less than enthused, and the DPJ could not secure the 54 seats the party held before the election.
            
[Mitsunori Makino, Voter]:             
"The consumption tax will probably end up rising at some point, but before that happens, there are still things that need to be done."
            
[Akira Ono, Voter]:           
"They weren't as good as I was expecting, and so I'm somewhat disappointed."   
         
Early exit polls showed the coalition govenment losing its upper house majority with the DPJ winning only 47 seats.             
             
Kan's DPJ will remain in power due to a majority in the powerful lower house of parliament, but it will have to seek coalition partners, complicating fiscal reform plans.
            
Political horse-trading is expected in coming days, but for the 63-year-old Kan, who has only been premier for a month, and his party, only in power for 10 months, policy adaptation has proven the key to survival.