Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito were short three seats to maintain a majority in the 248-seat upper house in Sunday's vote.

Japan’s top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said he’s aiming to visit Washington next week to continue efforts to win tariff concessions after talks on Saturday with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn’t touch on the issue.

Japan’s ruling coalition is likely to lose its majority in the upper house, exit polls showed after Sunday’s election, potentially heralding political turmoil as a tariff deadline with the United States looms.

Japan's top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said on Saturday he planned to visit Washington next week to hold further ministerial-level talks with the U.S.

Japan’s upper house election on Sunday dealt a big blow to the ruling coalition and sets markets up for possible policy paralysis and a bigger fiscal deficit, much of which is already priced in, analysts said.

In today’s edition … How the Japanese Diet is getting in the way of a trade deal ... Congress approves Trump’s foreign aid and public broadcast cuts.

Japan's ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power even as he vowed to remain party leader, citing a looming tariff deadline with the United States.

Japan's trade surplus significantly narrowed to JPY 153.1 billion in June 2025, a substantial drop from JPY 221.3 billion a year prior and well under the forecasted JPY 353.9 billion. Exports fell for the second consecutive month,

In Japan, the ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power as a tariff deadline looms