Japanese voters led the elections on Sunday in a stringent election amid public disappointment over rising prices and the impending threat of American tariffs.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Comito need to secure a joint 50 seats to maintain the overall majority in the upper house, but the latest voting shows that they may fall short.
The election comes at a difficult time for his ruling alliance as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump, who pressurize Tokyo during the stressful tariff negotiations.
Japan’s vast auto industry, which is responsible for eight percent of the country’s jobs, is already again from a painful levy in place.
Last week, weak export data feared that the fourth largest economy in the world may tip in a technical recession.
No compromise has been signed, despite having a initial meeting with Trump in February, and sending his business messenger seven times.
For voters, dealing with rising prices is also a central concern.
The cost of rice, one main food for Japanese houses, has almost doubled since last year.
For the past few months, the government has had to tap in its emergency stockpiles to deal with the deficiency.
Since last year’s lower house election, in which the alliance was seen below the majority, LDP is not able to regain the trust of voters who are dissatisfied with stable wages and tireless inflation.
Meanwhile, the Local Sanseito party, which is using social media to attract young voters, has seen an increase in popularity.
Polls show that its “Japanese First” slogan has hit a raga with some conservatives, although its staunch stance on foreigners has criticized.
The party wants “strict rules and boundaries” over immigration, opposes “globalism” and “radical” gender policies, and wants to reconsider decarbonization and vaccines.
If Ishiba’s ruling alliance fails to secure 50 seats, it will lose majority in both chambers of Parliament, which may threaten their leadership and cause political instability.
Ishiba’s central-right party has operated Japan almost continuously since 1955, which is with the constant changes of the leader.
The last time LDP and Komito failed to win a majority in the upper house, in 2010, in 2007, he had already fallen below the threshold.
This was followed by a rare change of the government in 2009, when Japan’s now-the-world Democratic Party ruled a rocky manner for three years.
