Officials at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry were bewildered Monday in the wake of the defeat of its minister Takashi Fukaya and four of his predecessors in Sunday's general election.

In the election, two serving ministers and 15 former ministers or agency heads, of whom 14 were running as candidates of the Liberal Democratic Party, lost their seats. MITI, however, was hardest hit with five serving or former ministers losing seats.

Fukaya was defeated by Yoshikatsu Nakayama of the Democratic Party of Japan in the Tokyo No. 2 constituency, while his immediate predecessor, Kaoru Yosano, lost his seat in the Tokyo No. 1 constituency.