Japanese were voting Sunday for seats in the smaller of Japan's two parliamentary houses in a key election with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his ruling coalition facing a possible defeat that could worsen the country's political instability.

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.

Exit polls show Japan's ruling coalition likely losing upper house majority, raising political instability amid inflation, trade pressure and nationalist gains.