Japanese voters angry at inflation turned to other parties, notably the "Japanese first" Sanseito, which made strong gains with its "anti-globalist" drive reminiscent of US President Donald Trump's agenda.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s future was unclear today after his coalition appeared to have disastrously lost its upper house majority in elections that saw strong gains by a right-wing populist party.

Shigeru Ishiba likes the nitty gritty of policy and making military models, but his dream job as Japanese prime minister looked at risk of coming unstuck on Sunday.

Japanese voters are participating in a crucial upper house election that could determine the fate of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's leadership amidst rising inflation and trade tensions with the US.

Japanese PM Ishiba's coalition lost its upper house majority, compounding earlier lower house losses. The right-wing Sanseito party gained traction with its