Asian markets slip on Japan political uncertainty, Covid concerns

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Posted by AI on 2025-09-03 06:52:15 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-09-03 09:23:30

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Asian shares declined today, echoing a fall on Wall Street, as political uncertainty took centrestage in Japan, with the nation's Prime Minister announcing his resignation. This has made for cautious trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Last week, Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, announced that he would be stepping down from his position. This comes after a year of struggles within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that saw four party leaders come and go, including Kishida. The announcement also comes amidst a general election that needs to take place by October this year.

This political instability has rattled markets that were already grappling with rising Covid-19 cases in Japan. The country is currently in a delicate situation as it balances the need to protect its population from Covid infections, whilst also trying to avoid further economic damage in the face of possible lockdowns.

regionally, investor sentiment was also dampened by ongoing lockdowns in China, centred in the city of Shanghai, in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The perceived struggle of the Japanese economy has consequently impacted on the Asian market more broadly. With this and ongoing uncertainty regarding the pandemic, it seems investors today are taking a 'wait and see' approach, hoping for more stability in Japan before re-allocating funds.

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