Page 2 - Japan Parliament

Japan's PM Shigeru Ishiba to resign following party's election loss: Report

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed his intention on Sunday to step down following growing calls from his party to take responsibility for its big loss in the July parliamentary election. Ishiba, who took office in October, has resisted demands from mostly rightwing opponents within his own party for more than a month. Ishiba's move comes one day before his Liberal Democratic Party will decide whether to hold an early leadership election a virtual no-confidence motion against him if approved.

Japanese PM Ishiba denies reports of resignation after poll setback

There's no truth to those reports, Ishiba said after he met with his predecessors and ruling party heavyweights Yoshihide Suga, Taro Aso and Fumio Kishida

Japan's Ishiba to decide on resignation after studying US tariff deal

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he will make a decision on resigning over a historic defeat of his ruling party in a weekend election after closely studying the tariff deal just struck with the United States. Ishiba has been under growing pressure to step down as his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, lost their majority in the 248-member upper house, the smaller and less powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament on Sunday, shaking his grip on power and Japan's political stability. The loss means Ishiba's ruling coalition, which also lost a majority in the more powerful lower house in October, now lacks a majority in both houses of parliament, making it even more difficult for his government to achieve any policy goals and worsening Japan's political instability. Ishiba had announced his intention Monday to stay on to tackle pressing challenges, including tariff talks with the US, without creating a political vacuum, sparking call

Japanese PM to stay on to tackle inflation, tariffs despite election loss

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba 's ruling coalition failed Monday to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, NHK public television said. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito needed to win 50 seats on top of the 75 seats they already have to reach the goal. With two more seats to be decided, the coalition had only 46 seats. 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 foundation in 1955. Despite the loss, Ishiba expressed determination to stay on 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 fulfill my responsibility as head of the No. 1 party and work for th

'Japanese First' party rises in election with anti-immigration, tax pitch

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner Komeito lost their majority in the upper house, leaving them further beholden to opposition support

Japan votes in key election as Prime Minister Ishiba faces possible loss

Japanese were voting Sunday for seats in the smaller of Japan's two parliamentary houses in a key election with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his ruling coalition facing a possible defeat that could worsen the country's political instability. Voters were deciding half of the 248 seats in the upper house, the less powerful of the two chambers in Japan's Diet. Early results were expected Sunday night. Ishiba has set the bar low, wanting a simple majority of 125 seats, which means his Liberal Democratic Party and its Buddhist-backed junior coalition partner Komeito need to win 50 to add to the 75 seats they already have. That is a big retreat from the 141 seats they had pre-election, but media surveys predict big setbacks for Ishiba. A poor performance on Sunday would not immediately trigger a change of government because the upper house lacks the power to file no-confidence against a leader, but it would certainly deepen uncertainty over his fate and Japan's political stability.

Japan PM Ishiba open to more stimulus but rules out sales tax cut

Speaking in parliament, Ishiba said the government "won't hesitate to take additional measures" to ease the pain on the economy from higher US tariffs

Japan presses US for swift tariff talks amid rising business losses

The talks come as Japan continues to push for exemptions from US tariffs, including a 25 per cent duty on global auto imports that began in early April

MP CM Mohan Yadav calls Japan trip 'extremely pleasant, successful'

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday returned to India after his four-day trip to Japan ahead of the state's investor summit. Taking to social media platform X, Yadav said the four-day Japan visit was "extremely pleasant and successful". This Japan visit will create new dimensions of investment in Madhya Pradesh and the relations between the two countries will become stronger with the participation of Japan as a partner country in the 'Global Investors Summit' to be held in Bhopal in February, he wrote. During his journey, which was primarily aimed at attracting investment for the upcoming Global Investors Summit (GIS) scheduled for February 24-25 in Bhopal, Yadav engaged with leading industrialists and pitched the state's potential, inviting them to invest in Madhya Pradesh. Upon his arrival in Tokyo on Tuesday, he received a warm welcome from the Indian community, who honoured him with traditional gestures. Yadav engaged in crucial meetings with the "Friends of

Japan cabinet okays record defence budget of $55 bn amidst regional threat

The Japanese Cabinet on Friday approved a record 8.7 trillion yen ($55 billion) defence budget for 2025 as Japan accelerates building up its strike-back capability with long-range cruise missiles and starts deploying Tomahawks to fortify itself against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia. The Cabinet-endorsed draft defence budget marks the third year of Japan's ongoing five-year military buildup under the national security strategy adopted in 2022. The defense spending is part of the more than 115 trillion yen ($730 billion) national budget bill also a record that requires parliamentary approval by March to be enacted. Japan is preparing to deploy US-made Tomahawks late in the fiscal year 2025 as part of its ongoing effort to acquire strike-back capability with long-range missiles that can hit distant targets. The budget allocates 940 billion yen ($6 billion) for the so-called standoff defence system that also includes long-range missiles, satellite constellation and

Japan to unveil record $735 bn budget with ramped-up defence spending

The increase from the current fiscal year's initial annual budget of ¥112.6 trillion is around 2.6 per cent, largely in line with the government's forecast for overall inflation in this fiscal year

Japan's budget to hit record, but with reduced new bond issuance: Report

Tax revenue is projected to rise 8.8 trillion yen from this year's initial estimate to a record 78.4 trillion yen, thanks in part to a recovery in corporate profits, according to the draft

Japan's reelected PM Ishiba vows to step up reform against funds misuse

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to take tougher measures against misuse of political funds after he was reelected by parliament Monday following a major loss in the polls last month by his governing coalition. Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito together lost a majority in the 465-seat Lower House, the more powerful of Japan's two-house parliament, in the October 27 election. The defeat was blamed on voter outrage over financial misconduct by his party. We must remind ourselves of the basics that politics is for the people, as we tackle political and party reforms," Ishiba said. He said that in response to the poor election results, "We must be able to have empathy for the pain, sorrow and anger of the people. A special parliamentary session convened Monday to pick a new leader in a vote required within 30 days of a general election. Ishiba beat top opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda 221-160 in the first runoff in 30 years. In his second ...

Japan PM Ishiba survives parliament vote as protectionist Trump looms large

Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, the head of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, the biggest party after the LDP, is also expected to be among the candidates put forward as premier

Ruling LDP loses lower house majority exacerbating challenges for new PM

Support from smaller parties, such as the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) or the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), who won 28 and 38 seats respectively, could now be key for the LDP

Asian shares rise as yen dips after Japan's ruling party loses majority

Asian shares rose on Monday as the yen dipped in the midst of political uncertainty after Japan's ruling party lost its majority in Parliament's lower house in weekend elections. In currency trading, the US dollar rose to 153.76 Japanese yen from 152.24 yen. It was trading at 140-yen levels last month. The euro cost USD 1.0796, down form USD 1.0803. The weak yen is a boon for Japan's giant exporters like Toyota Motor Corp., whose stock gained 3.7 per cent in Tokyo trading. Nintendo Co. gained 2.6 per cent, while Sony Corp. rose nearly 2.0 per cent. Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is still the top party, but several members failed to win reelection in Sunday's vote after a scandal involving unreported campaign funding. All told, the ruling coalition with junior partner Komeito secured 215 seats, down sharply from the majority of 279 it previously held, according to Japanese media. A change of government is not expected but the LDP may need a third coalition partner. Tokyo .

Japan's ruling party braces for blow to comfortable majority in lower house

The results could weaken Ishiba's grip on power, possibly leading Japan into political uncertainty, though a change of government was not expected

Campaigning kicks off for Japan's parliamentary election on October 27

Official campaigning for Japan's October 27 parliamentary election began on Tuesday with new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba seeking a mandate for his policies and for reforms after the governing party's political funds scandal. More than 1,300 candidates were expected to enter the races for the 465-seat Lower House before registration closes later Tuesday. Ishiba called the snap election after he took office as prime minister on October 1. As customary for Liberal Democratic Party leaders over the past decade, he was to start his campaign in Fukushima to renew his pledge to support the area's recovery from the 2011 nuclear disaster. With the early election, Ishiba is seeking to secure a majority in the lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two parliamentary chambers, before the congratulatory mood fades. The move has been criticized as prioritizing an election rather than policies and for allowing little debate. A majority for the ruling coalition would be 233 seats between his

Japan's Shigeru Ishiba confirmed as prime minister, set to unveil cabinet

In his victory speech on Friday, he spoke about the need to beef up Japan's security after recent territorial incursions by Chinese and Russian military vessels

Japan PM Kishida steps down before likely successor Ishiba takes office

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resigned with his Cabinet, paving the way for his likely successor Shigeru Ishiba to take office. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi announced that Kishida and his ministers stepped down at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Ishiba was chosen as the governing Liberal Democratic Party's leader on Friday to replace Kishida, who announced in August his resignation at the end of his three-year term. Ishiba is assured to be prime minister later on Tuesday in a vote by parliament because it is dominated by his party's ruling coalition. Ishiba will then announce his new Cabinet later in the day. Kishida took office in 2021 but is leaving so his party can have a fresh leader after his government was dogged by scandals. On Monday, Ishiba said he planned to call a parliamentary election to be held on October 27 after he is formally chosen as prime minister. "I believe it is important to have the new administration get the public's judgement as soon a