Japanese lawmakers voted for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to stay on as leader on Monday, November 11, after his scandal-tarnished coalition lost its parliamentary majority in a lower house election last month, Reuters reports.
Ishiba, who called the snap poll after taking office on October 1, must now run a fragile minority government as protectionist Donald Trump regains control in main ally the United States, tension rises with rivals China and North Korea, and domestic pressure mounts to rein in the cost of living.
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 runoff for the first time in 30 years, with no candidate able to muster majority support in the first round.
But Ishiba eventually prevailed as expected, garnering 221 votes in the 465-seat lower house, well clear of his nearest challenger, ex-PM Yoshihiko Noda, the head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.
