Zürcher Nachrichten - Japan PM set to form minority government

EUR -
AED 3.896782
AFN 71.970942
ALL 98.005181
AMD 410.245014
ANG 1.910392
AOA 969.150107
ARS 1058.535585
AUD 1.625105
AWG 1.911243
AZN 1.804916
BAM 1.952226
BBD 2.140282
BDT 126.668083
BGN 1.954125
BHD 0.39988
BIF 3130.34894
BMD 1.060918
BND 1.418709
BOB 7.350404
BRL 6.098794
BSD 1.060009
BTN 89.509273
BWP 14.421276
BYN 3.468912
BYR 20793.984215
BZD 2.136589
CAD 1.480871
CDF 3043.772641
CHF 0.937002
CLF 0.037907
CLP 1045.969635
CNY 7.661842
COP 4706.760764
CRC 542.432423
CUC 1.060918
CUP 28.114315
CVE 110.062449
CZK 25.385671
DJF 188.763289
DKK 7.459582
DOP 63.876059
DZD 141.570939
EGP 52.207642
ETB 131.000325
FJD 2.400856
GBP 0.832847
GEL 2.906642
GHS 17.277204
GMD 75.853327
GNF 9135.746941
GTQ 8.190926
GYD 221.749817
HKD 8.252734
HNL 26.751282
HTG 139.425239
HUF 411.004238
IDR 16737.512871
ILS 3.989583
INR 89.539798
IQD 1388.583814
IRR 44669.934186
ISK 147.520817
JMD 168.439542
JOD 0.752299
JPY 164.527633
KES 137.06364
KGS 91.448653
KHR 4295.439124
KMF 488.419938
KRW 1493.349953
KWD 0.326234
KYD 0.883299
KZT 526.01683
LAK 23242.540542
LBP 94922.679318
LKR 309.967089
LRD 199.802298
LSL 19.152137
LTL 3.132613
LVL 0.641738
LYD 5.135839
MAD 10.515649
MDL 18.974154
MGA 4955.161109
MKD 61.501816
MMK 3445.818857
MOP 8.49301
MRU 42.123861
MUR 50.064526
MVR 16.402021
MWK 1837.721918
MXN 21.861851
MYR 4.72746
MZN 67.819132
NAD 19.151596
NGN 1778.681478
NIO 39.010598
NOK 11.769899
NPR 143.222523
NZD 1.790898
OMR 0.408483
PAB 1.059939
PEN 4.005911
PGK 4.258364
PHP 62.296049
PKR 294.599601
PLN 4.351472
PYG 8282.226373
QAR 3.864488
RON 4.975918
RSD 116.986352
RUB 103.700317
RWF 1454.705134
SAR 3.986063
SBD 8.859994
SCR 14.916358
SDG 638.142533
SEK 11.580918
SGD 1.420892
SLE 24.18896
SOS 605.819355
SRD 37.381452
STD 21958.851549
SVC 9.275193
SZL 19.142853
THB 36.855747
TJS 11.267165
TMT 3.713211
TND 3.332367
TOP 2.48477
TRY 36.47689
TTD 7.203151
TWD 34.468683
TZS 2825.997726
UAH 43.903187
UGX 3894.795581
USD 1.060918
UYU 44.68818
UZS 13571.98253
VES 47.606636
VND 26894.260197
XAF 654.789004
XCD 2.867183
XDR 0.798576
XOF 654.789004
XPF 119.331742
YER 264.990671
ZAR 19.19911
ZMK 9549.525686
ZMW 28.858523
ZWL 341.615022
  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    24.54

    -0.73%

  • NGG

    -1.2400

    62.9

    -1.97%

  • RIO

    -1.4000

    61.2

    -2.29%

  • SCS

    0.0200

    13.67

    +0.15%

  • GSK

    -0.8300

    35.52

    -2.34%

  • CMSD

    -0.2100

    24.75

    -0.85%

  • AZN

    0.4000

    65.19

    +0.61%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0500

    7.11

    -0.7%

  • BCE

    -0.1600

    27.69

    -0.58%

  • RELX

    -1.2100

    46.59

    -2.6%

  • BCC

    -2.0100

    141.13

    -1.42%

  • RBGPF

    59.3400

    59.34

    +100%

  • VOD

    -0.8500

    8.47

    -10.04%

  • JRI

    -0.3000

    13.22

    -2.27%

  • BP

    -0.7600

    28.16

    -2.7%

  • BTI

    0.0900

    35.24

    +0.26%

Japan PM set to form minority government
Japan PM set to form minority government / Photo: Kim Kyung-Hoon - POOL/AFP/File

Japan PM set to form minority government

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces a parliament vote on Monday that is expected to keep him in the job, but with a fragile grip on power after a disastrous general election.

Text size:

Ishiba, 67, took office in early October and called a snap election which he hoped would shore up his mandate as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Instead, voters unhappy with inflation and a slush fund scandal that helped sink his predecessor Fumio Kishida delivered the party its worst result since 2009, which could cause political gridlock in a hung parliament.

While the conservative LDP and its junior coalition party lost their majority in the general election, they remain the largest bloc in parliament's powerful lower house.

With Japan's opposition parties deeply divided on many key issues, Ishiba is expected to lead a minority government from Monday when lawmakers convene for a special four-day session to nominate the prime minister.

To have enough sway to pass legislation going forward, the ruling bloc has asked for help from the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) -- a small centrist group that has agreed to cooperate on a vote-by-vote basis while staying out of the coalition.

In talks with the LDP, the DPP has demanded tax cuts and energy subsidies that economists say would significantly reduce the government's tax revenues.

In a twist, DPP head Yuichiro Tamaki on Monday admitted to an extra-marital affair reported by a tabloid and said he would discuss his leadership position with his colleagues.

"I apologise for causing such a disturbance," he told reporters, adding that the party would discuss its voting plan ahead of the parliament assembly on Monday afternoon.

- Tough road ahead -

"In order to stay in power, Ishiba needs to pass the government budget this winter. It will mean the LDP will have to concede some of its policies to seek cooperation from others," Tomoaki Iwai, professor emeritus at Nihon University, told AFP.

On the diplomatic front, Donald Trump's US election victory could complicate matters for former defence minister Ishiba.

Risks include potential new trade tariffs and demands for more defence spending by Tokyo which has relied on the United States for military hardware for decades.

Along with these delicate negotiations, Ishiba must also contend with bitter discontent within his party, which lost dozens of seats -- including ministers -- in the October 27 election.

"Unless he improves his public support, those inside the LDP may start saying they cannot fight the upper house election under Ishiba" and look for another leader, Iwai added. The public votes in the upper house election in July.

Approval ratings for Ishiba's government are just above 30 percent, but polls show a majority of the public say he should remain prime minister.

Ishiba faces a tough road ahead with both Washington and domestic lawmakers seen likely to press him for higher public spending and tax cuts at the same time, analysts said.

Experts have voiced worries that Trump, without consulting Asian allies, may make deals with China.

Possible fresh US tariffs on Chinese and Japanese goods may fuel inflation, while the Trump administration may demand Japan to expand its defence spending or push Japanese firms to expand their factories in the US.

That should pressure Ishiba to expand the government's spending, while opposition lawmakers tell him to cut taxes, Hideo Kumano, chief economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute, wrote in a note.

"It must be Mr. Ishiba who is feeling the toughest headache of Mr. Trump's victory," Kumano wrote.

N.Zaugg--NZN