Today in Japan there are elections to the Upper House that are crucial to Prime Minister Ishiba

On Sunday , the Japanese will hold partial elections to the Upper Houseof the National Parliament to elect representatives of the Diet. The key to the elections is whetherthe ruling coalition, led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba 's Liberal Democratic Party, will be able to maintain the majority.

The ballot boxes have been opened in Japan at 07:00 (23:00 on Saturday in the Basque Country).  44,700 polling stations will be able to vote until 20:00 (Sunday noon in the Basque Country). Among 522 candidates will have to choose who will occupy the 125 seats that make up the chamber, half of the 248 that make up the chamber and one that is vacant. 

The term of office of this House of Parliament in Japan is six years, and every three years half of those elections are changed.

Approximately 21.45 million people, just over 20% of the total electorate, have voted in advance, an increase of 5.32 million over the partial elections of 2022, according to data published by the Japanese public network NHK.

Among the issues ofthe election campaign have been the increasing cost of living caused by persistent inflation at the centre, as each party advocates different measuresto combat it, such as monetary incentives, the reduction or abolition of consumer tax or measures against high rice prices.

In addition, social securityhas also been widely discussed in this campaign, and voices have been heard calling for a reduction in premiums. Similarly, measures to reverse low birth rates, foreign policy and security policy, the response to US tariffs  have also been put on the political agenda, and the debate on tightening policies for foreigners living in Japan, driven by social media, has been put on the political agenda by the entry of fully xenophobic minority parties into the national landscape.

These elections are crucial for Ishiba's executive, who has ruled in a minority since losing control of the lower house in last October's general election.

Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party and its Komeito Buddhist coalition must win at least 50 of the 125 seats to maintain the simple majority and ensure the viability of the government, as losing it would result in the loss of legislative control and greater dependence on small parties.

The governing coalition had 140 seats before these elections. The most recent polls suggest that it will be difficult to maintain the majority, as the people are angry with the rise in prices and the Ishiba administration has not achieved significant gains in recent times. 

The loss of control of the Upper House would be a slap in the face for the Prime Minister, he said, would be a "failure," and his fellow party members could point to his resignation, given that he lost the Lower House first, and that in June the party had the worst results ever recorded in the Tokyo Assembly elections, the most important at regional level and considered to be ahead of these elections.