Japan's Prime Minister under pressure after election setbacks
Toru Hanai—Bloomberg via Getty Images
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has pledged to stay in office, despite exit polls showing that his Liberal Democratic Party's ruling coalition has lost its majority in the upper house of parliament.
The LDP-Komeito coalition surrendered its majority in the lower house last year, and defeat in Sunday's tightly-contested election could further undermine its influence, News.Az reports citing foreign media.
There is "frustration" with Ishiba, the LDP and Komeito over rising prices, inflation, a "string of political scandals" and the "threat of U.S. tariffs," said the BBC.
The election "exposed a growing generational fissure" in Japan, with the "biggest gains" going to a "gaggle of new parties that drew younger voters with stridently nationalist messages," said The New York Times. The "fringe far-right" Sanseito party made gains with its "Japanese First" campaign, said Reuters.
Ishiba said he "solemnly" accepted the "harsh result." He vowed to "deal with" the "many issues" facing the country, including reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration. A new leader now would "almost certainly unleash political drama," said the BBC, and "destabilize Japan's government at a pivotal moment in U.S.-Japan trade negotiations."
News.Az
