FOCUS: Japan PM Ishiba adopts hardline rhetoric as polls threaten his job

Among the many slogans used by politicians to rally support ahead of Sunday's parliamentary election, "Do not underestimate us" and "Japanese First" perhaps best capture the predicament facing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.Ishiba, who heads the Liberal Democratic Party, has intensified his rhetoric on issues appealing to conservatives, a core LDP base, as media polls suggest the ruling coalition may lose its majority in the House of Councillors, potentially jeopardizing his premiership."This is the toughest election yet," Ishiba told supporters during a stump speech as the 17-day campaign n…READ FULL ARTICLE