Tokyo: Japanese lawmakers voted on Monday to retain Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after his scandal-hit coalition lost its parliamentary majority in last month’s lower house election. Ishiba, who called the snap poll after assuming office on October 1, now leads a fragile minority government as tensions rise with the U.S., China, and North Korea, and domestic pressure mounts over rising living costs.
Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito won the most seats in the election but lost their majority for the first time since 2012, forcing Ishiba to rely on small opposition parties to pass his policy agenda. Monday’s parliamentary vote, broadcast live, went to a runoff for the first time in 30 years, with no candidate securing majority support in the first round. Ishiba ultimately won with 221 votes, ahead of ex-PM Yoshihiko Noda of the Constitutional Democratic Party, but still short of a majority in the 465-seat lower house.
Next year, Japan will hold elections for the upper house, where the ruling coalition’s slim majority is also at risk if Ishiba cannot restore public trust shaken by a scandal over unreported donations to lawmakers. Ishiba now faces the challenge of securing a supplementary budget for the fiscal year, under pressure to boost welfare spending and address rising prices.
He will need support from opposition parties, particularly the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), but DPP lawmakers recently did not vote to confirm his premiership. Meanwhile, Ishiba prepares for international engagements, including a G20 summit in Brazil and potential talks with US President Donald Trump. Japan remains wary of Trump’s protectionist stance and possible demands regarding US military costs.
