The minority government of the Japanese prime minor Shigeru Ishiba of the Democratic Liberal Party (PLD) is expected to lose control of the upper chamber parliament, polls for the mouth of the electoral zones.
According to Japanese public broadcaster NHK, the coalition between the PLD and the Komeito party is expected to guarantee between 32 and 51 seats of 248 seats in Parliament. If the result is materialized and the government guarantees less than 46 seats, this would be the worst coalition performance since its formation in 1999.
The increase in the price of rice, inflation and the announcement of 25% US tariffs on Japanese products have been pressure on the conservative government of Ishiba, in office just under a year ago, and that had already lost control of the Low Chamber in the October 2024 election.
Despite instability, political experts in Japan believe the fall of the government is unlikely, as governors are in the midst of a tariff negotiation with Donald Trump. On the other hand, the administration of Ishiba would be very weakened, and would be forced to seek alliances with opposing parties to form a majority and ensure the governability of the Japanese government.
The Japanese Democratic Liberal Party Shigeru Ishiba has dominated Japanese politics since the end of World War II, but has lost popular support in recent years, especially among young people. With this, subtitles such as Sanseito, by nationalist agenda, and the Japan’s Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), the main opposition leader, Yoshihiko Noda, today are considerable forces in the Japanese political game.
