Japan's Upper House poll spells trouble for PM

The Sunday poll to the Upper House of the Japanese Diet is projected to end as a rebuff to the ruling coalition of Liberal Democratic Party-Komeiti coalition led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

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The ruling coalition is set to lose its majority in the Upper House according to media projections. The television channel NHK is predicting that the LDP coalition could win between 32 and 53 seats.

Though the government of Ishiba does not have to quit, the prime minister will be under greater pressure than ever to resign, and the LDP will be forced to choose a new leader. Ishiba has acknowledged the setback but he has told a television news channel that the country is facing a crucial trade dialogue with the United States, and that the responsibility of his government is to focus on the bilateral talks, with the US under President Donald Trump, threatening to impose reciprocal tariffs between 10 per cent and 25 per cent. Like many other trading partners of the US, Japan too is worried because the American tariffs would hit the export-based economy harshly.