Japan, Upper House
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The embattled prime minister said he would remain in office to oversee tariff talks with the United States and other pressing matters.
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TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday he will stay in office to tackle challenges such as rising prices and high U.S. tariffs after a weekend election defeat left his coalition with a minority in both parliamentary chambers and triggered calls for his resignation.
Moody's has rated Japan A1, the fifth-highest level, with a "stable" outlook since December 2014. But it warned in a report in May that it may downgrade the rating "if prospects increase of a material and sustained widening in fiscal deficits leading to a significant deterioration" in Japan's already high debt burden.
JGB yield rose to the highest since October 2008 at 1.595% last Tuesday after opinion polls increasingly pointed to opposition gains. The 30-year yield shot to an all-time peak of 3.2%, and the 20-year yield leapt to the highest since November 1999 at 2.
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.