Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces a parliament vote on Monday that is expected to keep him in the job, but with a fragile grip on power after a disastrous general election. Ishiba, 67, took office in early October and called a snap election which he hoped would shore up his mandate as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Instead, voters unhappy with inflation and a slush fund scandal that helped sink his predecessor Fumio Kishida delivered the party its worst result since 2009, which could cause political gridlock in a hung parliament.
While the conservative LDP and its junior coalition party lost their majority in the general election, they remain the largest bloc in parliament's powerful lower house. With Japan's opposition parties deeply divided on many key issues, Ishiba is expected to lead a minority government from Monday when lawmakers convene for a special four-day session to nominate the prime minister. To have enough sway to pass legislation going forward, the ruling bloc has asked for help from the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) -- a small centrist group that has agreed to cooperate on a vote-by-vote basis while staying out of the coalition.
In talks with the LDP, the DPP has demanded tax cuts and energy subsidies that economists say would significantly reduce the government's tax revenues. In a twist, DPP head Yuichiro Tamaki on Monday admitted to an extra-marital affair reported by a tabloid and said he would discuss his leadershi.