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Investing.com-- A coalition led by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling party is set to lose its majority in the upper house, public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday.
Exit polls showed Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito falling short of the 125 seats needed to keep control of Japan’s upper house, which was a key goal of Ishiba’s.
Ishiba told NHK that he still intended to stay on as prime minister and party leader, amid growing calls for his removal.
Sunday’s loss comes after Ishiba’s ruling LDP party suffered a drastic loss in October’s lower house election, which reflected consistently souring public faith in the party. Promises of more government welfare and tax cuts from opposition parties, such as the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, also appeared to have swayed voters.
While the recent ballot will not directly determine whether Ishiba’s government will fall, it does herald increased political uncertainty for Japan, especially as Ishiba’s administration failed to so far reach any trade deal with the United States.
Japan faces a 25% tariff on all exports to the U.S., effective August 1.
The Japanese yen firmed slightly in whipsaw trade on Monday, with the USDJPY pair falling 0.3%. Japanese stock markets were closed for a holiday.