The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling triumvirate suffered a major setback but managed to secure a comfortable majority in the Lower House in Sunday's general election.

Several leading members of the LDP and its allies indicated that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori would keep his post, even though the LDP alone appears to have lost a simple majority in the powerful lower chamber amid low popular support for the Mori Cabinet.

Mori said in a TV interview that he plans to hold a special Diet session as early as July 4 to launch his new Cabinet.