Voting today to elect new leader in Japan, PM Ishiba’s alliance in trouble
According to opinion polls, LDP and its long-time ally Komeito may face defeat. If opinion polls prove correct, the loss of majority will force Prime Minister Ishiba to negotiate power-sharing with smaller parties, which came to power just a month ago.
X
Japan’s PM Shigeru Ishiba
aajtak.in
- New Delhi,
- 27 October 2024,
- (Updated October 27, 2024, 8:18 AM IST)
Japan’s voters will today decide the fate of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s government. His alliance is in danger in this election. People are said to be angry against the Ishiba government over the funding scam and rising inflation, which could end the decade-long dominance of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
According to opinion polls, the LDP and its longtime ally Komeito may face defeat and the alliance may possibly lose its parliamentary majority. These days, Japan is struggling with rising inflation and increasingly tense relations with neighboring China.
If opinion polls prove correct, the loss of majority will force Ishiba to negotiate power-sharing with smaller parties, which came to power just a month ago. This will create uncertainty in some policy areas, although no survey has predicted the LDP being out of power.
related news
Also read: Bagh print made a splash in Japan’s ‘India Fair’, gave special recognition to Madhya Pradesh
Challenges will increase for Japan
Political results can create turmoil in the market which can become a headache for the Bank of Japan. If Ishiba chooses a partner who favors maintaining near-zero interest rates while the central bank raises interest rates, Japan’s troubles could worsen.
“He (Shigeru Ishiba) will be significantly weakened as a leader, and his party will be weakened in the policies it specifically wants to focus on,” says Jeffrey Hall, an expert on Japanese politics at Kanda University of International Studies. By bringing a coalition partner, they will have to make some compromises with that party, whichever party it is.”
Also read: Malabar 2024: Navies of India, Australia, Japan and America are roaring in Visakhapatnam, this is the specialty of the exercise.
What is survey called?
According to the survey, LDP may lose 50 out of its 247 seats in the lower house and the number of Komeito seats may go below 30. The alliance is expected to get less than the 233 seats required for majority. Polls indicate that the LDP will remain the largest force in Parliament, but it may have to face losses to the second-ranked opposition Constitutional Democratic Party in the second Parliament. This same party had removed LDP from power in 2009. It is estimated that CDPJ can win 140 seats.
