Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday vowed to remain in his post after his ruling coalition suffered a bruising defeat in upper house elections, prompting some in his own party to doubt his leadership as the opposition weighed a no-confidence motion.
The embattled prime minister told a news conference that he would remain in office to oversee tariff talks with the US and other pressing matters, such as rising consumer prices that are straining the world’s fourth-largest economy.
“I will stay in office and do everything in my power to chart a path toward resolving these challenges,” Ishiba said, adding that he intended to speak directly with US President Donald Trump as soon as possible and deliver tangible results.
Photo: AFP
However, analysts said that his days might be numbered, having also lost control of the more powerful lower house in elections last year, and shedding votes on Sunday to opposition parties pledging to cut taxes and tighten immigration policies.
“The political situation has become fluid and could lead to a leadership change or the reshuffling of the coalition in [the] coming months,” Oxford Economics lead Japan economist Norihiro Yamaguchi said.
Investors fear Ishiba’s administration would now be more beholden to opposition parties advocating for tax cuts and welfare spending that the world’s most indebted nation can ill afford.
The 68-year-old leader said he had no plans to expand his coalition, but would work with opposition parties to address voter concerns about inflation.
However, he cautioned that tax changes would not deliver the immediate help households need.
Adding to the economic anxiety, Ishiba’s lack of progress in averting tariffs set to be imposed by the US on Friday next week appears to have frustrated some voters.
“Had the ruling party resolved even one of these issues, [its approval rating] would have gone up, but we didn’t feel anything and it seems like the US would continue to push us around,” Hideaki Matsuda, a 60-year-old company manager, said outside Tokyo’s Shinjuku Railway Station yesterday.
Japan’s chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa departed for trade talks in Washington yesterday morning, his eighth visit in three months.
Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled Japan for most of its post-war history, and coalition partner Komeito returned 47 seats, short of the 50 seats needed to ensure a majority in the 248-seat upper chamber in an election where half the seats were up for grabs.
The leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, Yoshihiko Noda, on Sunday said that he was considering submitting a vote of no confidence in the Ishiba administration as the result showed it did not have voters’ trust.
Some senior LDP lawmakers were also quietly voicing doubts over whether Ishiba should stay on, local media reports said.
Among them was former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso, leader of a powerful faction within the ruling party, who said he “could not accept” Ishiba staying on, TV Asahi reported.
“It is natural that there are various opinions within the party,” Ishiba said when asked about members of his party calling for his resignation.
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