Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba,left,votes for a run-off for a new prime minister on Monday.Credit:AP
His Liberal Democratic Party 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.
Underlining that fragility,Monday’s vote in parliament,broadcast on television,went to a run-off for the first time in 30 years after no candidate was able to muster majority support in the first round.
Ishiba eventually prevailed as expected,garnering 221 votes in the 465-seat lower house,well clear of his nearest challenger,ex-prime minister Yoshihiko Noda,the head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.
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Japan will hold elections next year for the less powerful upper house,where the ruling coalition’s slim majority could also be at risk if Ishiba cannot revive public trust in his administration,which has been roiled by a scandal over unrecorded donations to politicians.
His imminent challenge is compiling a supplementary budget for the fiscal year through March,under pressure from voters and opposition parties to raise spending on welfare and take steps to offset rising prices.
Ishiba also has a slate of international engagements,such as a summit of the Group of 20 big economies in Brazil on November 18 and 19. He is trying to arrange a stopover in the US around the G20 summit to meet Trump.