Premier says he would remain in office to oversee tariff talks with US, but analysts say he faces political headwinds.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba says he will remain in office after his ruling coalition suffered a defeat in upper house elections, prompting some of his own party to deliberate his future as the opposition weighed a no-confidence motion.

The embattled premier told a news conference on Monday that he would remain in office to oversee tariff talks with the United States and other pressing matters such as rising consumer prices that are straining the world’s fourth largest economy.

“Changes in the external environment, such as the international situation, or natural disasters, cannot wait for the political situation to improve,” Ishiba told reporters.

“For this reason, although I’m acutely aware of our grave responsibility for the election results, in order to not let politics become stagnant, I believe I must fulfil my responsibility as the party with the most votes and to the people of the country, while listening carefully and sincerely to the voices of the local people,” he said.

Ishiba’s coalition won 47 seats in the 248-seat House of Councillors in Sunday’s election, three short of the 50 it needed to retain control of the upper chamber. The outcome left Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and junior partner Komeito with a combined 122 deputies in the upper chamber, which fills half of its seats in elections every three years.

Amid widespread discontent over rising living costs, the far-right Sanseito party broke into the political mainstream, picking up 14 seats on top of its one existing seat. The party, which only holds three seats in the National Diet, capitalised on voter frustration over inflation and Japan’s moribund economy with warnings about immigration and populist pledges on tax cuts and social welfare.

The result marks another serious blow for Ishiba, whose government is locked in high-stakes trade negotiations with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Tomohiko Taniguchi, Fujitsu Future Studies Centre in Tokyo, told Al Jazeera that given the shortage of possible leaders in the ruling party who could take up the role “in these difficult circumstances, there is a fair chance” that Ishiba will stay in office “for quite some time”.

“However, in the coming days, there will be much intra-party battle to be forged” that could affect Ishiba’s hold to power, he said.

Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya, a 47-year-old former English teacher and supermarket manager, has stirred controversy with conspiracy theories about vaccines and “globalist elites”, and cited Trump’s “bold political style” as inspiration.

In an interview with Nippon Television after the vote, Kamiya defended his “Japanese First” slogan.

“The phrase was meant to express rebuilding Japanese people’s livelihoods by resisting globalism. I am not saying we should completely ban foreigners or that every foreigner should get out of Japan,” he said.

Despite denying accusations of xenophobia, Sanseito built its platform on nationalist appeals and fears of a “silent invasion” by immigrants.

Foreign residents in Japan reached a record 3.8 million last year, only about 3 percent of the population, but concerns about immigration remain present, even if not dominant.

NHK polling before the election showed that just 7 percent of respondents considered immigration as their main concern. Far more voters expressed anxiety over the country’s declining birthrate and rising food prices, particularly rice, which has doubled in cost over the past year.

“The buzz around Sanseito, especially here in the United States, stems from its populist and anti-foreign message. But it’s also a reflection of the LDP’s weakness,” said Joshua Walker, the president of the US-based Japan Society.

While Sanseito has drawn comparisons with far-right European groups such as Germany’s AfD and Reform UK, right-wing populism is a relatively new phenomenon in Japan, where such movements have historically struggled to gain traction.

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies