Tokyo ? Voters handed a stinging defeat to Japan’s ruling party in weekend elections, rejecting a proposal to increase taxes and handicapping a fledgling government struggling to keep the world’s second-largest economy from financial meltdown.

Results compiled today in major newspapers showed Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s party fell far short of maintaining a majority in the upper house of parliament. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan won only 44 seats, far below Kan’s target of 54, while the opposition won 51 and gained control together with its coalition partners.

With public spending at more than double its GDP, Japan is trying to manage its ballooning debt while also addressing high unemployment and stagnant growth.