TOPSHOT - Officials look on as people vote during the general election at a polling station set up at a local school in Tokyo on October 27, 2024.
Japan voted on October 27 in its tightest election in years, with new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his juggernaut Liberal Democratic Party facing potentially their worst result since 2009.
(Photo by Richard A. Brooks / AFP) (Photo by RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)Japan's voters decide the fate of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government on Sunday in an election expected to punish his coalition over a funding scandal and inflation, potentially ending a decade of dominance for his Liberal Democratic Party.
Political wrangling could roil markets and be a headache for the Bank of Japan, if Ishiba chooses a partner that favours maintaining near-zero interest rates when the central bank wants to gradually raise them.
"That's basically the scenario for 'sell Japan'," as investors ponder how the outcome could affect fiscal and monetary policy, said Naka Matsuzawa, chief macro strategist at Nomura Securities.
Persons:
Shigeru Ishiba, Richard A, Brooks, RICHARD A, BROOKS, Shigeru Ishiba's, Komeito, Ishiba, Jeffrey Hall, That's, Naka Matsuzawa
Organizations:
Liberal Democratic Party, Getty, LDP, Bank of Japan, Kanda University of International Studies, Asahi, Nomura Securities, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan
Locations:
Tokyo, Japan, AFP, China