Japan PM hangs on after losing Upper House majority

CNA

3 days ago

But asked late Sunday if he intended to remain in office, Ishiba told local media: "That's right."
He told another channel that "the deadline of (US) tariffs is coming on Aug 1. Until then we have to do our best with our body and soul".
Ishiba is expected to inform a meeting of senior LDP figures on Monday that he will stay in office, Jiji Press reported.
If Ishiba does go, it was unclear who might step up to replace him now that the government needs opposition support in both chambers to pass legislation.
"Ishiba may be replaced by someone else, but it's not clear who will be the successor," Hidehiro Yamamoto, politics and sociology professor at the University of Tsukuba, told AFP.
"JAPANESE FIRST"
In the election, 125 seats in the 248-seat Upper House were contested.
The coalition needed 50 of those up for grabs, but NHK and others said they only won 47, with the LDP winning 39 and Komeito eight, giving them 122 deputies.
Second-placed was the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), which won 22 of those being contested, followed by the Democratic Party For the People (DPP) with 17.
The right-wing Sanseito party won 14 seats.
Sanseito wants "stricter rules and limits" on immigration, opposes "radical" gender policies, and wants a rethink on decarbonisation and vaccines.
Last week, it was forced to deny any links to Moscow - which has backed populist parties elsewhere - after Russian state media interviewed a candidate.
The opposition is fragmented, and chances are slim that the parties can form an alternative government.
But pressure will grow on the coalition to cut or abolish the consumption tax, something which Ishiba has opposed in view of Japan's colossal national debts of over 200 per cent of gross domestic product.
After years of stagnant or falling prices, consumers in the world's fourth-largest economy have been squeezed by inflation since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
TRUMP TARIFFS
In particular, the price of rice has doubled, squeezing many household budgets despite government handouts.
Voter Hisayo Kojima - one of legions of older people in Japan's falling and ageing population - said outside a voting station on Sunday that her pension "is being cut shorter and shorter".
Not helping is lingering resentment about an LDP funding scandal, and US tariffs of 25 per cent due to bite from Aug 1 if there is no trade deal with the United States.
Japanese imports are already subject to a 10 per cent tariff, while the auto industry, which accounts for eight per cent of jobs, is reeling from a 25 per cent levy.
Despite Ishiba securing an early meeting with US President Donald Trump in February and sending his trade envoy to Washington seven times, there has been no trade accord.