Japan PM Ishiba survives Parliament vote ahead of possible Trump meeting

TOKYO - Japanese lawmakers voted for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to stay on as leader on Nov 11, after his scandal-tarnished coalition

lost its parliamentary majority in a Lower House election in October.

Mr Ishiba called the snap polls after coming into office on Oct 1 and must now run a fragile minority government as protectionist Donald Trump regains control in the US, Japan’s main ally, tension rises with rivals China and North Korea, and domestic pressure mounts to rein in the cost of living.

His Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and coalition partner Komeito won the biggest bloc of seats in the election but lost the majority held since 2012, leaving him beholden to small opposition parties to pass his policy agenda.

“In the light of the very challenging election, we must transform into a national party that serves the people, that empathises with the people’s struggles, their misery and their joy,” Mr Ishiba said at a press conference after Parliament voted to keep him in his job.

Underlining his party’s fragility, however, Nov 11’s vote in Parliament, broadcast on television, went to a run-off for the first time in 30 years, with no candidate able to muster majority support in the first round.

But Mr Ishiba eventually prevailed, garnering 221 votes, which was short of a majority in the 465-seat Lower House but well clear of his nearest challenger Yoshihiko Noda. Former premier Noda, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, took 160 votes.

Japan will hold elections in 2025 for the less powerful Upper House, where the ruling coalition’s slim majority could also be at risk if Mr Ishiba cannot revive public trust in his administration, which has been roiled by a scandal over unrecorded donations to lawmakers.

The most imminent challenge he faces is compiling a supplementary budget for the fiscal year to March, under pressure from voters and opposition parties to raise spending on welfare and measures to offset rising prices.

With his premiership confirmed, Mr Ishiba appointed three new Cabinet ministers, one each for transport, justice and agriculture, two of whom replace LDP lawmakers who lost their seats in the Lower House election.

Mr Ishiba also has a slate of international engagements, including a summit of the Group of 20 (G-20) big economies in Brazil on Nov 18 and 19.

He is also trying to arrange a stopover in the US around the G-20 summit to meet Trump. The Japanese leader spoke to the President-elect for the first time on Nov 7 in a “friendly” five-minute conversation, during which Mr Ishiba congratulated him on his election victory.

Some Japanese officials fear that Trump might again hit Tokyo with protectionist trade measures and revive demands for it to pay more towards the cost of stationing US forces in the country.

These issues were largely smoothed over in Trump’s first term, from 2017 to 2021, by the close ties between the president and Japan’s then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe – a bond Mr Ishiba seems keen to re-establish.

Trump “said many things on Ukraine, Gaza and alliances during the election, but it is difficult to predict what his policies will be until he assumes office”, Mr Ishiba said. “Our focus will be on proposing solutions that mutually benefit both nations.”

Kingmaker party

The small opposition Democratic Party for the People (DPP) has emerged as a kingmaker after the election, declining to enter a formal coalition with the LDP but saying it may offer support on a policy-by-policy basis.

In a sign of the challenges Mr Ishiba may face in pushing through his policy agenda, DPP chief Yuichiro Tamaki told reporters on Nov 8 that party members would not vote for Mr Ishiba at Nov 11’s special parliamentary session, despite having held cooperation talks with the Prime Minister.

“Until now, the LDP and Komeito have been able to push their policies through, and they are no longer able to do that, they have to listen to the opposition parties,” Mr Tamaki said.

Mr Tamaki, though, faces his own battles, saying on Nov 11 that he would consult with his party over whether to remain its leader after

admitting to an extramarital affair,

first revealed in a tabloid magazine. REUTERS