Shigeru Ishiba's coalition loses majority in Japan's upper house election
Tokyo (AP): Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition failed on Monday to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, further shaking the stability of his government as Japan faces challenges such as rising prices and high US tariffs.
Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito, which needed to win 50 seats on top of the 75 seats they already have to retain their majority, won 47 seats. It was three seats short of a majority and a retreat of 19 seats from before the vote.
The loss is another blow to Ishiba's coalition, making it a minority in both houses following its October defeat in the lower house election, and worsening Japan's political instability. It was the first time the LDP has lost a majority in both houses of parliament since the party's formation in 1955.
Despite the loss, Ishiba expressed determination to stay on and not create a political vacuum to tackle challenges such as U.S. tariff threats, but he could face calls from within his party to step down or find another coalition partner.
“I will fulfil my responsibility as head of the No. 1 party and work for the country,” he said.
Ishiba had set the bar low, wanting a simple majority of 125 seats, which means his LDP and its Buddhist-backed junior coalition partner Komeito needed to win 50 seats. Exit poll results released seconds after the ballots closed Sunday night mostly showed a major setback for Ishiba's coalition.
The LDP alone won 39 seats, better than most exit poll projections of 32, and still the No. 1 party in the parliament, known as the Diet. But Ishiba said the coalition's poor showing was because his government's measures to combat price increases had yet to reach many people.
“It's a tough situation. I take it humbly and sincerely,” Ishiba told a live interview with NHK.
The poor performance in the election will not immediately trigger a change of government because the upper house lacks the power to file a no-confidence motion against a leader, but it will certainly deepen uncertainty over his fate and Japan's political stability. Ishiba could face calls from within the LDP party to step down or find another coalition partner.
Economic worries frustrate voters
Soaring prices, lagging incomes and burdensome social security payments are the top issues for frustrated, cash-strapped voters. Stricter measures targeting foreign residents and visitors also emerged as a key issue, with a surging right-wing populist party leading the campaign.
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.
Trade talks with Washington
US President Donald Trump has added to the pressure, complaining about a lack of progress in trade negotiations and the lack of sales of US 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.
Ishiba resisted any compromise before the election, but the prospect of a breakthrough after the election is just as unclear because the minority government would have difficulty forming a consensus with the opposition.
Populism gains traction
Frustrated voters were rapidly turning to emerging populist parties. The eight main opposition groups, however, were too fractured to forge a common platform as a united front and gain voter support as a viable alternative.
The emerging populist party Sanseito stands out with the toughest anti-foreigner stance, with its “Japanese First” platform that proposes a new agency to handle policies related to foreigners. The party's populist platform also includes anti-vaccine, anti-globalism and favours traditional gender roles.
Conservative opposition groups, especially the DPP and Sanseito, gained significant ground at the Liberal Democrats' expense, while the centrist top opposition CDPJ was sluggish. The DPP quadrupled to 17 seats from four, according to interim results reported by Japanese media. Sanseito surged to 14 from just one.
Sanseito leader, former local assembly member and a Self-Defense Force reserve personnel, told NHK said he is open to cooperate with the ruling bloc on conservative policies while waiting to gain more seats in the other house in a next election and form a multi-party coalition as in Europe.
None of the opposition parties said that they were open to cooperating with the governing coalition. CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda told NHK that his priority is to form an alliance among the opposition. “Public opinion clearly said no' to the Ishiba government,” Noda said.
The spread of xenophobic rhetoric in the election campaign and on social media triggered protests by human rights activists and alarmed foreign residents.
A choice between stability or change
The LDP has almost continuously dominated Japan's postwar politics, contributing to its political stability and social conformity. But voters are divided between stability and change, with some voicing concern about escalating xenophobia.
Yuko Tsuji, a 43-year-old consultant who came to a polling station inside a downtown Tokyo gymnasium with her husband, said they both support LDP for stability and unity. They voted “for candidates who won't fuel division."
“If the ruling party doesn't govern properly, the conservative base will drift toward extremes. So I voted with the hope that the ruling party would tighten things up,” she said.
Self-employed Daiichi Nasu, 57, who came to vote with his dog, said he hopes for a change toward a more inclusive and diverse society, with more open immigration and gender policies such as allowing married couples to keep separate surnames.
“That's why I voted for the CDPJ,” he said. “I want to see progress on those fronts.”
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
