Heavy defeat for Japan’s ruling party in upper house elections

Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s Prime Minister, emphasized on Monday that despite losing the parliamentary majority, he will not resign and will continue to take responsibility for leading the country.

In Sunday’s elections, the ruling coalition — consisting of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Ishiba and the smaller Komeito (Clean Government Party) — failed to secure a majority in the Upper House, falling short of the 125-seat threshold by three seats.

This marks the second major electoral defeat for the government coalition in less than a year. In last October’s Lower House elections, they also lost their majority. Now, the ruling coalition is a minority in both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, although the LDP remains the largest party.

Speaking at a press conference at LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Ishiba stated: “I fully feel the weight of responsibility from this result, but I will not abandon my duty to the country and the people. Politics cannot remain in limbo. Crises will not wait for the political situation to improve.”

Referring to economic pressures, rising prices of essential goods such as rice, and external challenges like heavy U.S. tariffs, he stressed that now is not the right time to step down.

One of the immediate challenges facing Ishiba’s government is the August 1st deadline for a trade deal with the United States. Failure to reach an agreement could lead to Washington imposing 25% tariffs on Japanese goods.