Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office after his ruling coalition lost its majority in both chambers of parliament, saying his “serious responsibility” now is to prevent political instability and address urgent national challenges.
“While I painfully feel my serious responsibility over the election results, I believe I must also fulfill my responsibility I bear for the country and the people so as not to cause politics to stall or go adrift,” Ishiba told reporters on Monday, rejecting calls to resign.
Sunday’s upper house election left Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito three seats short of a majority in the 248-seat chamber.
Combined with October’s lower house losses, the coalition now lacks control of the entire Diet, though the LDP remains the largest single party.
The prime minister pointed to pressing challenges including rising consumer prices, falling wages, and a looming August 1 deadline to reach a tariff deal with the United States.
He emphasised the urgency of navigating Japan through these hurdles. “Challenges such as the global situation and natural disaster won’t wait for a better political situation,” he said.
Ishiba’s top economic negotiator, Minister Ryosei Akazawa, is heading to Washington this week for the eighth round of trade talks. The prime minister also expressed a desire to meet US President Donald Trump “as soon as possible” to finalise a mutually beneficial deal.
The LDP’s loss was driven by public frustration with the government’s inability to stem price increases especially for staples like rice and stagnant wage growth. The coalition has been weakened by past corruption scandals and a string of concessions to opposition lawmakers.
Voters, meanwhile, swung toward conservative and right-wing populist parties. The Democratic Party for the People quadrupled its seats by pushing for higher take-home pay. The nationalist Sanseito party, running on a “Japanese First” platform with hardline stances on immigration and gender roles, climbed to third place in the opposition.
While Ishiba said the LDP would “quickly analyze the results and learn the lesson,” opposition leaders showed no interest in joining his coalition. “Public opinion clearly said ‘no’ to the Ishiba government,” said Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) leader Yoshihiko Noda.
However, Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya expressed openness to working with the ruling bloc on conservative issues. “We did better than expected,” he said, adding that he would aim to form a broader coalition after gaining more seats in the next election.
Despite the setbacks, Ishiba insisted he is not staying on out of self-interest but out of duty, “To put the pressing issues on a path to a solution.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
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