Japan's Ishiba Vows to Stay On After Election Defeat
Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's Prime Minister and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) places a red paper rose on the name of an elected candidate at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Sunday, July 20, 2025. Photo: AP/PTI
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition has failed to secure a majority in Sunday's election for the 248-seat upper house of parliament, Japan's public NHK TV outlet said.
Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), already in a minority in the lower house since last October's snap election, faced mounting public discontent over inflation, political scandals and a surge in anti-immigration sentiment.
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Business Standard
24 minutes ago
- Business Standard
'Seed money': Japan will invest $550 bn in US at my direction, says Trump
President Donald Trump is bragging that Japan has given him, as part of a new trade framework, $ 550 billion to invest in the United States. It's an astonishing figure, but still subject to negotiation and perhaps not the sure thing he's portraying. "Japan is putting up $ 550 billion in order to lower their tariffs a little bit," Trump said Thursday. They put up, as you could call it, seed money. Let's call it seed money. He said 90 per cent of any profits from the money invested would go to the US even if Japan had put up the funds. It's not a loan or anything, it's a signing bonus, the Republican president said, on the trade framework that lowered his threatened tariff from 25 per cent to 15 per cent, including on autos. A White House official said the terms are being negotiated and nothing has been formalised in writing. The official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks, suggested the goal was for the $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction. The sum is significant: It would represent more than 10 per cent of Japan's entire gross domestic product. The Japan External Trade Organisation estimates that direct investment into the US economy topped $780 billion in 2023. It is unclear the degree to which the $550 billion could represent new investment or flow into existing investment plans. What the trade framework announced Tuesday has achieved is a major talking point for the Trump administration. The president has claimed to have brought trillions of dollars in new investment into the US, though the impact of those commitments have yet to appear in the economic data for jobs, construction spending or manufacturing output. The framework also enabled Trump to say other countries are agreeing to have their goods taxed, even if some of the cost of those taxes are ultimately passed along to US consumers. On the $ 550 billion, Japan's Cabinet Office said it involves the credit facility of state-affiliated financial institutions, such as Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Further details would be decided based on the progress of the investment deals. Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, upon returning to Japan, did not discuss the terms of the $ 550 billion investment. Akazawa said he believes a written joint statement is necessary, at least on working levels, to avoid differences. He is not thinking about a legally binding trade pact. The US apparently released its version of the deal while Japanese officials were on their return flight home. If we find differences of understanding, we may have to point them out and say that's not what we discussed,' Akazawa said. The US administration said the fund would be invested in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, computer chips and shipbuilding, among other industries. It has said Japan will also buy 100 airplanes from Boeing and rice from US farmers as part of the framework, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would be evaluated every three months. And if the president is unhappy, then they will boomerang back to the 25 per cent tariff rates, both on cars and the rest of their products. And I can tell you that I think at 25, especially in cars, the Japanese economy doesn't work, Bessent told Fox News' The Ingraham Angle. Akazawa denied that Bessent's quarterly review was part of the negotiations. In my past eight trips to the United States during which I held talks with the president and the ministers," Akazawa said. I have no recollection of discussing how we ensure the implementation of the latest agreement between Japan and the United States. He said it would cause major disruptions to the economy and administrative processes if the rates first rise to 25 per cent as scheduled on Aug 1 and then drop to 15 per cent. We definitely want to avoid that and I believe that is the understanding shared by the US side, he said. On buying US rice, Japanese officials have said they have no plans to raise the current 770,000-ton minimum access cap to import more from America. Agricultural Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan will decide whether to increase US rice imports and that Japan is not committed to a fixed quota. Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has suggested that the Japanese agreement is putting pressure on other countries such as South Korea to strike deals with the US Trump, who is travelling in Scotland, plans to meet on Sundayv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss trade. Whatever Donald Trump wants to build, the Japanese will finance it for him, Lutnick said Thursday on CNBC. Pretty amazing. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hindustan Times
24 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
'Very much' remind me of India-Pak conflict: Trump on Thai-Cambodia tensions
As he announced he was seeking to mediate a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, US President Donald Trump on Saturday said the intensified tensions between the bordering countries "very much" reminded him of the India-Pakistan conflict. US President Donald Trump has sought to broker a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia.(AP) In a Truth Social post, Trump said efforts were underway to ensure Thailand and Cambodia, and that he got in touch with leaders of both countries over separate phone calls. "I am trying to simplify a complex situation! Many people are being killed in this War, but it very much reminds me of the Conflict between Pakistan and India, which was brought to a successful halt," a part of Trump's post made after his conversation with the Prime Minister of Cambodia. India and Pakistan recently saw a military conflict following the launch of Operation Sindoor on May 7, a move targeted to destroy terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The operation was launched by India days after a deadly terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam claimed 26 lives, all civilians. A military conflict ensued between the bordering countries after Pakistan's targeting of Army bases in India, and a ceasefire was announced on May 10. Ever since, Donald Trump has claimed multiple times that brokered the truce, linking the move to a trade. While India has rejected his claim asserting the ceasefire was agreed upon bilaterally, Pakistan credits Trump with the de-escalation of tensions between the bordering nations. Trump's recent remark on the India-Pakistan conflict came as he spoke about the Thailand-Cambodia clashes. In subsequent posts, Trump said he had spoke to leaders of both neighbouring countries and they want immediate ceasefire. "After speaking to both Parties, Ceasefire, Peace, and Prosperity seems to be a natural. We will soon see!" a part of his post read. Trump also said both countries wanted to be on the 'trading table' with the US, but said he would act on it only after peace is restored.
News18
an hour ago
- News18
Thailand, Cambodia trade fresh attacks, accusations as allies call for ceasefire
Agency: PTI Last Updated: Surin(Thailand), Jul 26 (AP) Thailand and Cambodia traded accusations of fresh attacks Saturday as deadly border clashes entered a third day and international pressure mounted for a ceasefire. The fighting has killed at least 33 people and displaced more than 168,000. Artillery and small arms fire were reported near several border villages, expanding the area of the fighting that flared Thursday after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers. Cambodian and Thai officials blamed each other for starting the clashes. Both countries recalled their ambassadors and Thailand closed its border crossings with Cambodia. Cambodian authorities reported 12 new deaths on Saturday, bringing its toll to 13, while the Thai military said a soldier was killed, raising the number of dead to 20, mostly civilians. Cambodia's Information Minister Neth Pheaktra said Saturday that the clashes have forced 10,865 Cambodian families, or 37,635 people, in three border provinces to evacuate to safe locations. Thai officials said more than 131,000 people have fled their border villages. The 800-kilometer frontier between Thailand and Cambodia has been disputed for decades, but past confrontations have been limited and brief. The latest tensions flared in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a confrontation that created a diplomatic rift and roiled Thailand's domestic politics. Officials from the two countries did not immediately confirm any plan to meet. Trump's comments followed increasing pressure on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to defuse the tensions between its two members. During an emergency meeting on Friday, members of the UN Security Council called for a de-escalation and urged ASEAN to mediate a peaceful solution. The council didn't issue a resolution on the crisis, but Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said Saturday that the group's 15 members called for restraint, an end to hostilities and a peaceful resolution. The leader of Malaysia, ASEAN's current chair, has said Thailand and Cambodia are open to a ceasefire proposal. Malaysian media said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has tasked the country's foreign minister with mediating peace talks, but no concrete plans have been announced. Maris said earlier Saturday that his country has agreed in principle to ASEAN's ceasefire proposal, but insisted Cambodia must first cease hostilities. He said Thailand continues to engage with Malaysia on the matter. 'Thailand reaffirms its commitment to resolving the conflict peacefully and in accordance with international law," he said, urging Cambodia to 'return to the negotiating table with sincerity and in good faith." Sides trade accusations and deny responsibility Cambodia's Defence Ministry condemned what it called an expanded Thai offensive early Saturday after five heavy artillery shells were fired into Pursat province. It said the attack was an 'unprovoked and premeditated act of aggression." Ministry spokesperson Lt Gen Maly Socheata said tensions flared in the coastal province of Koh Kong and expressed concern about the possibility of confrontations at sea. Maly Socheata said seven Cambodian civilians and five soldiers have been killed in two days of fighting. Another man was reportedly killed when a pagoda he was hiding under was hit by Thai rockets. The Thai army has denied targeting Cambodian civilians and accuses Phnom Penh of using 'human shields" by positioning their weapons near residential areas. In a statement Saturday, Thailand's navy accused Cambodian forces of initiating a new attack in the province of Trat, which shares a border with Koh Kong, saying Thai forces responded swiftly and 'successfully pushed back the Cambodian incursion at three key points." The navy warned that 'aggression will not be tolerated." Thai authorities also alleged several Cambodian artillery shells damaged homes and property in neighbouring Laos. Lao officials have not publicly responded to the claim. Call to protect civilians amid claim of cluster bomb use Human Rights Watch urged the UN Security Council and other nations to press Thailand and Cambodia to abide by international humanitarian law and take all steps to protect civilians. Children have been harmed and Thailand has closed at least 852 schools and seven hospitals for safety reasons, the rights group said in a statement Saturday. Both sides have fired rockets and artillery, and after initially denying Cambodian claims that internationally prohibited cluster munitions were being used, a Thai military spokesperson said Friday that such weapons can be utilized 'when necessary" to achieve military objectives. Human Rights Watch condemned the use of cluster munitions in populated areas. Neither Thailand nor Cambodia is party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use of the weapon. Thai authorities used them during a border dispute with Cambodia in February 2011 that left 20 people dead. 'Neither Thailand nor Cambodia appears to be paying attention to international humanitarian law at great expense to civilians," John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. 'Diplomatic efforts underway need to prioritize protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure." Thai officials acknowledged it has used F-16 jets and drones to launch airstrikes. (AP) RD RD view comments First Published: News agency-feeds Thailand, Cambodia trade fresh attacks, accusations as allies call for ceasefire Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
