Group 1 - The Japanese ruling coalition, led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), suffered a significant defeat in the recent House of Councillors election, failing to secure a majority for the first time since its establishment in 1955 [4] - The coalition needed to win at least 50 out of 125 contested seats but only managed to secure 47, leading to a political crisis and calls for resignations from key party leaders [3][4] - The LDP has formed a "Senate Election Summary Committee" to analyze the reasons for the electoral failure, citing unattractive inflation countermeasures and previous political scandals as contributing factors [4] Group 2 - Japan's economy is facing severe challenges, with the S&P Global Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) at 49.7 in August, indicating continued contraction in the manufacturing sector [4] - The U.S. tariff policy remains a significant variable affecting Japanese exports, with a projected loss of 2.67 trillion yen in operating profits for major automakers like Toyota and Honda due to a 15% tariff on exports [5] - Despite the political turmoil, recent polls indicate that Prime Minister Kishida's approval rating has increased to 42%, up 10 percentage points since July, suggesting some public support remains [6]