Japan's leader says he intends to stay on after election defeat, citing Trump tariff talks

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his intention to stay in the position on Sunday, after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party was projected to lose its upper house majority in a key election

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his intention to stay in the position on Sunday, after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party was projected to lose its upper house majority in a key election.

Ishiba, when asked by a reporter if he intends to stay as prime minister and the ruling party leader, said “that’s right,” during a joint press interview at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo as vote counts continued.

“We are engaged in extremely critical tariff negotiations with the United States...we must never ruin these negotiations,” Ishiba added.

Japanese voted Sunday for seats in the smaller of the country’s two parliamentary houses.

While the ballot does not directly determine whether Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s shaky minority government falls, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October.