Ishiba's weakened mandate complicates US trade and defense plans: analysts

Japan's opposition parties have not given strong alternatives for how to handle Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump watches Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House on Feb. 7. © Reuters

KEN MORIYASU

July 22, 2025 07:55 JST

WASHINGTON -- The U.S.-Japan alliance has entered a period of uncertainty, American think tank analysts say, after Sunday's upper house Diet election resulted in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party having lost its majority in both legislative chambers for the first time since its founding in 1955.