JAPAN Defeated in the polls, Ishiba seeks path to minority government

For the first time in 15 years, the Liberal Democratic Party lost its majority in parliament in Tokyo. The new premier paid the price for the party’s slush fund scandals, which had already caused Kishida’s popularity to plummet. Excluding an enlargement of the coalition, the opposition led by Yoshihiko Noda is trying to put up a united front with the centrists. For the first time, the Conservative Party, a xenophobic and revisionist force, will also enter the Diet.Read More