Japan's Parliament Reelects Struggling Leader Ishiba as Prime Minister

TOKYO: Japan's parliament reelected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday after his governing coalition suffered worst election loss in more than a dece.

Ishiba’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito toger lost ir majority in 465-seat Lower House, more powerful of Japan’s two-house parliament, in Oct. 27 election due to continued voter outr over financial misconduct by his party and its lukewarm response.

A special parliamentary session convened Monday to pick a new leer in a vote required within 30 days of a general election. In past, se votes did t attract as much attention because an LDP leer was virtually assured to be prime minister. Ishiba beat top opposition leer Yoshihiko da 221-160 in first ruff in 30 years.

Most of his previous Cabinet members will be reappointed, but Ishiba will have to replace three who lost ir seats or were affected by election results.

Since election loss, Ishiba has refused to step down, saying is willing to cooperate with ditional coalition partners to boost stability and help him pursue his party’s policies. da, he of centrist opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has sought to form an opposition coalition — but so far unsuccessfully.

Ishiba will struggle in coming months as he must gain consent from opposition on policies including budget and or legislation.

He is eyeing a rising smaller, conservative opposition, Democratic Party for People, whose seats qurupled to 28 under its popular leer Yuichiro Tamaki.

A Harvard-educated former Finance Ministry bureaucrat, Tamaki has proposed raising basic tax-free income allowance and increasing take-home ws, ideas that attracted low-income earners and younger voters in election. He only wants to cooperate with Ishiba’s party on policy — t as part of a coalition — since he wants to use his lever to increase his party’s standing ahe of next election.

Tamaki was recently stung by a magazine article exposing an extramarital affair, which he mitted to on Monday, ding to political uncertainty.

Ishiba’s government is preparing for his trip later this month to Asia Pacific Ecomic Cooperation and Group of 20 summits, as well as a possible meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on his way home.