Japanese voters angry at inflation turned to other parties, notably the "Japanese first" Sanseito, which made strong gains with its "anti-globalist" drive reminiscent of US President Donald Trump's agenda.

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.

Shigeru Ishiba likes the nitty gritty of policy and making military models, but his dream job as Japanese prime minister looked at risk of coming unstuck on Sunday.

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

Japanese voters are participating in a crucial upper house election that could determine the fate of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's leadership amidst rising inflation and trade tensions with the US.