Ahead on stunning Japanese election loss for ruling party

Reuters was the first international news agency to report on July 11 that Japan`s ruling coalition had lost its majority in upper house elections, flashing the exit poll figures 10 seconds ahead of both Bloomberg and Dow Jones. The election mauling of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) is likely to stymie policymaking and it could lead to the ouster of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who is already the fifth leader of the world’s second-largest economy in three years. Reuters’ coverage of the election included factboxes, graphics and profiles of the main parties and issues in the run-up to the vote, and then – within half an hour of the exit polls - quick-fire experts’ views and a rapid analysis that explained the policy and political crisis now facing the DPJ.