Though Japan's ruling party has survived another vote and its premier is unlikely to leave office anytime soon, the country's new minority government will face legislative delays in passing financial support for households, its annual budget and defense spending reforms, which could fray U.S.-Japan ties. On Nov. 11, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba won a vote in the lower house of the Diet to stay on as prime minister. Two small opposition parties, the Democratic Party for the People (DPP) and Nippon Ishin, voted for their own party leaders in a run-off election between the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party's (CDP) candidate and Ishiba, invalidating their ballots and allowing Ishiba to win the run-off with only a minority of votes from his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and long-time coalition partner Komeito. This vote came after Ishiba was first elected as prime minister on Sept. 27 by the LDP, and...
