Ishiba's future linked to American tariffs

In early April, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced he would impose a 10 percent tariff on almost all countries, plus an additional 14 percent "reciprocal tariff" on Japan, political pundits forecast that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba would be put into a corner.

- SATOSHI IGOWA

But to the contrary, Trump's tariffs have helped Ishiba so far.

Before the tariff issue arose, Ishiba was already in a corner—one of his own making. After it was learned that the prime minister had given gift certificates worth ¥100,000 to each of 15 Liberal Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives with whom he had dined at his official residence, harsh criticism erupted against him. His Cabinet's approval rating suffered a sharp drop to 31 percent in a Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted in mid-March. It was eight points down from the poll in February, and his worst level since taking office last fall.

However, once Trump announced his tariffs, news coverage became dominated by that issue. After Ishiba declared the tariffs to be tantamount to a national crisis, LDP rivals and senior opposition party members alike have held back from criticizing him so they can avoid being seen as a hindrance.