Japan's ruling coalition lost its parliamentary majority in a drubbing at Sunday's national election, raising uncertainty over the make-up of the next government and the outlook for the world's fourth-largest economy.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s conservative ruling party is bracing for a blow to its comfortable majority in the lower house of parliament amid public rage over the party’s financial scandals and discontent over a stagnant economy.

Japan's voters decide the fate of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government on Sunday in an election expected to punish his coalition over a funding scandal and inflation, potentially ending a decade of dominance for his Liberal Democratic Party.

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba now faces a political battle to keep his job and continue on the path set by his predecessor.

Japan's ruling coalition is certain to lose its parliamentary majority as a result of Sunday's national election, public broadcaster NHK reported, raising uncertainty over the make-up of the next government and the prospects for the world's fourth-largest economy.

The youngest was 72, the oldest in her late 80s, members of a generation that will wield outsized electoral influence thanks to demographics and political apathy as the world’s oldest nation prepares to go the polls on Sunday in a snap election.