Surveys suggest tough election for Japan PM

Japan's unpopular ruling coalition faces tough upper house elections this weekend, opinion polls suggested, potentially ending Shigeru Ishiba's premiership after less than a year.

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Ishiba, 68, has headed a minority government since October when he led the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to its worst general election result in years.

The new surveys indicate that the ruling coalition of the LDP and the smaller Komeito party could lose its upper house majority on Sunday when 125 out of 248 seats are up for grabs.

The ruling bloc is “on course” to lose the majority, Kyodo News said on Tuesday, citing its latest poll.

It “would likely trigger calls for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation”, Kyodo said.

Voters are unhappy about inflation -- in particular, the price of rice -- and scandals within the LDP, which has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for decades.