Japan Risks Turning Inward Just as World Braces for Trump Return
- Ishiba indicates he’ll stay on as PM despite lost majority
- Weak coalition may limit new leader’s ability to maneuver
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Japan risks entering a renewed phase of policy stasis just as the world prepares for the possible return of Donald Trump to the White House — and the pressure that would bring on key US allies.
An election on Sunday left Japan without a clear winner for the first time since the 1990s, all but guaranteeing that a weak government will run the world’s fourth-largest economy. For now, that will be headed by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who indicated Monday that he has no plans to step aside even after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party failed to win a majority for the first time since 2009, when the main opposition group won in a landslide.