Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s future was unclear Monday after his coalition appeared to have disastrously lost its upper house majority in elections that saw strong gains by a right-wing populist party.

By Tim Kelly and Mariko Katsumura TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a tightly contested upper house election that could unleash political turmoil, with rising prices and immigration concerns threatening to weaken Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s future was unclear today after his coalition appeared to have disastrously lost its upper house majority in elections that saw strong gains by a right-wing populist party.

Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba faces an increasingly uphill battle in Sunday’s upper house election, and a loss could worsen political instability at a time of daunting challenges, such as rising prices and high U.

Japanese voters headed to the polls on Sunday in a tightly contested election amid public frustration over rising prices and the imminent threat of US tariffs. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito need to secure a combined 50 seats to retain an overall majority in the upper house but the latest polling shows they might fall short.