Key points
- LDP coalition had to win 50 seats in Sunday’s election, but it fell three short
- LDP has governed almost continuously since 1955
- Japan’s Sanseito party won 14 seats
TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was clinging on Monday even after his coalition lost its upper house majority, as new US tariffs loom.
According to NHK, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed almost continuously since 1955, and its partner Komeito had to win 50 seats in Sunday’s election but they fell three short.
Ishiba Shigeru stressed that he plans to stay in office, despite his party’s disappointing results in Sunday’s Upper House election. Ishiba said in a news conference on Monday that the government can’t afford to get bogged down.
Voters angry at inflation turned to other parties, notably the “Japanese first” Sanseito, which made strong gains with its “anti-globalist” drive echoing the agenda of populist parties elsewhere, AFP reported.
Ishiba’s coalition
The debacle comes only months after Ishiba’s coalition was forced into a minority government in the more powerful lower house, in the LDP’s worst result in 15 years.
AFP reported, but asked late Sunday if he intended to remain in office, Ishiba told local media: “That’s right.”
“The deadline of (US) tariffs is coming on August 1. Until then we have to do our best with our body and soul,” he said.
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.
The election saw 125 seats in the 248-seat upper house contested.
According to AFP, the coalition needed 50 of those but local media reported they only won 47, with the LDP winning 39 and Komeito eight, giving them 122 deputies.
Top priority
Second-placed was the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP), which won 22 contested seats, followed by the Democratic Party For the People (DPP) with 17.
The Sanseito party won 14 seats. More likely is that Ishiba will continue needing opposition support on a case-by-case basis to pass legislation, according to AFP.
Despite Ishiba securing an early meeting with Trump in February, there has been no trade accord. On Monday tariffs envoy Ryosei Akazawa left on his eighth visit to Washington.
“There’s no impact from the election result (on the negotiations),” Akazawa told reporters at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, saying that Japan’s national interest remained the “top priority”.
