Japan's Ishiba says he'll stay in office to tackle inflation and US tariffs despite election loss
Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito were short three seats to maintain a majority in the 248-seat upper house in Sunday's vote. The coalition is now a minority in both houses of the Diet, or parliament, though the LDP is still the leading party.
Ishiba said he takes the result seriously but that his priority is to avoid creating a political vacuum and to tackle impending challenges, including the Aug. 1 deadline for a tariff deal with the U.S.
'While I painfully feel my serious responsibility over the election results, I believe I must also fulfill my responsibility I bear for the country and the people so as not to cause politics to stall or go adrift,' Ishiba said. 'Challenges such as global situation and natural disaster won't wait for a better political situation."
The prime minister said he hopes to reach a mutually beneficial deal and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sunday's vote comes after Ishiba's coalition lost a majority in the October lower house election, stung by past corruption scandals, and his unpopular government has since been forced into making concessions to the opposition to get legislation through parliament. It has been unable to quickly deliver effective measures to mitigate rising prices, including Japan's traditional staple of rice, and dwindling wages.
Trump has added to the pressure, complaining about a lack of progress in trade negotiations and the lack of sales of U.S. autos and American-grown rice to Japan despite a shortfall in domestic stocks of the grain. A 25% tariff due to take effect Aug. 1 has been another blow for Ishiba.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
18 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
Oil Edges Lower Amid Tariff, Demand Concerns
0005 GMT — Oil edges lower in the early Asian session amid tariff and demand concerns. Lingering uncertainty over U.S. tariff decisions could continue to damp sentiment around forward demand for crude, XTB MENA's Milad Azar says in an email. Also, U.S. crude inventories have introduced more uncertainty, the market analyst says. 'U.S. crude stocks posted a draw last week, but this was offset by builds in gasoline and distillate inventories, suggesting underlying demand may be underwhelming relative to seasonal expectations,' Azar adds. Front-month WTI crude oil futures are down 0.15% at $67.10/bbl; front-month Brent crude oil futures are 0.2% lower at $69.07/bbl. (
Bloomberg
18 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Rupiah to Consolidate Before Further Gains, Citi Strategist Says
The Indonesian rupiah's recent gains are set to pause in the coming month before advancing to levels last seen in December, according to the currency's top forecaster. Emerging market currencies, especially those that are high-yielding, tend to weaken for various reasons in August, said Rohit Garg, head of foreign exchange and rates strategy Asia ex-Japan for Citigroup Inc. By the end of the year, the strategist forecasts the rupiah to rally almost 2% against the dollar.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Tariffs to slow spending, economic growth during H2: Conference Board
This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: U.S. economic growth will likely slow during the second half of 2025 as tariffs push up the prices of goods and dampen consumer sentiments, the Conference Board said Monday. Rising claims for unemployment insurance, gloomy consumer expectations and weak new manufacturing orders last month outweighed a bump up from a strong gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 stock index, the Conference Board said, citing components of its Leading Economic Index. While a recession is unlikely, growth in gross domestic product 'is expected to slow substantially in 2025 compared with 2024,' Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager for business cycle indicators at the Conference Board, said in a statement. GDP will likely increase 1.6% this year, 'with the impact of tariffs becoming more apparent in H2 as consumer spending slows due to higher prices.' Dive Insight: Following President Donald Trump's announcement this month of 30% tariffs on imports from Mexico and the EU, consumers face an average effective tariff rate of 20.6% — the highest level since 1910 — and a 2.1% short-run increase in prices, according to the Yale Budget Lab. The higher prices from the planned tariffs and those announced this spring will likely set back the average U.S. household by $2,800 this year, the Yale Budget Lab said in a study published July 14. Tariffs will probably push up unemployment by 0.5 percentage point by the end of this year and, over the long run, trim 0.5 percentage point from GDP, the Yale Budget Lab said. Both public- and private-sector economists disagree over whether the import duties will trigger a brief, one-shot increase in prices or a sustained inflationary tide that sweeps across of the economy. Most economists, while expressing surprise at the resilience of the U.S. economy, forecast GDP growth will decline for the remainder of 2025 and into 2026. 'The economy has slowed decisively, with GDP growth likely averaging about 1.5% in the first half from 3% over the previous three years,' Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a note to clients on Thursday. After a slight gain during the first quarter, economic growth likely increased at a 2.4% annual rate during the second quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said on Friday. During the first half of 2025, the Conference Board's Coincident Economic Index measuring the current state of the economy rose 0.8%, a decline from a 1% gain during the second half of 2024, the Conference Board said. Still, all four of the index's components improved last month, including payroll employment, industrial production, manufacturing and trade sales, and personal income less transfer payments, the Conference Board said. Looking ahead, and 'based on what the data tell us today, I expect uncertainty and tariffs to restrain spending and reduced immigration to slow labor force growth,' New York Fed President John Williams said Wednesday. 'As a result, I expect real GDP growth this year to be about 1 percent.' Recommended Reading Economic data 'point to headwinds ahead,' Conference Board says Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
