Memo: Japan PM quits

Hi ZipLawyer! Here's all you need to know for today:

🇯🇵 Japan PM quits
🇬🇧 Starmer under pressure
🛢️ OPEC+ ups oil output
🇳🇴 Norway votes in tight race
🏠 Ashurst leads on housing claim
💊 A&O Shearman heads pharma case
🙋 Term: Coalition Majority

Must-Know Today

🇯🇵 Japan’s Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru has resigned after just a year in the job. His party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), lost its majority in both houses of parliament in recent elections, piling pressure on him to step down. Ishiba will stay on until a new leader is chosen. The sudden exit highlights how quickly political careers in Japan can collapse after poor election results.

🇨🇳 China confirmed that President Xi Jinping will join a virtual BRICS summit on Monday, alongside Vladimir Putin, to discuss U.S. trade policies under Donald Trump. At the same time, reports say China may reopen its financial markets to Russian energy companies — a sign of closer ties between the two nations. Still, the relationship is uneven: China has the far stronger economy, leaving Russia increasingly dependent on Beijing as Western sanctions cut it off from other markets.

💡Did you know? BRICS is a group of five major emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

🇬🇧 UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged his new cabinet to “step up a gear” and deliver for the British people as he scrambles to fend off Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. The warning comes at a shaky moment: one of Starmer’s top strategists has just quit, leaving a hole at the heart of Downing Street. With Reform’s populist surge threatening Labour’s dominance, the departure has sparked talk of a government in crisis right as Starmer needs to project control.

🇦🇷 Argentina’s opposition Peronists scored a comfortable win in Buenos Aires province, dealing a blow to President Javier Milei. Provisional results show the Peronists ahead by 13 percentage points, far wider than polls suggested. Milei is pushing painful but overdue economic reforms while also facing a corruption scandal, which hurt him on the campaign trail. For Argentina, the result signals growing resistance to austerity — and a reminder that voters may back reforms in theory, but punish them at the ballot box.

🛢️ OPEC+, the group of major oil-producing countries, said it will increase production by 137,000 barrels a day in October. That’s more than many expected, but so far prices haven’t fallen sharply. The challenge is what comes next: if global demand for oil slows down, the extra supply could tip the balance and push prices lower. Since oil prices affect everything from petrol costs to politics, OPEC+ says it will keep a close eye on the market.

🇳🇴 Norwegians began voting in what’s shaping up to be a tight race between the ruling left-wing coalition and an opposition bloc of the Progress Party and Conservatives. The campaign has revolved around the cost of living and how to use Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund amid shifting geopolitics. With polls too close to call, the outcome could reshape Norway’s stance on spending, energy, and its role in Europe. Ballots close this evening, with results expected soon after.

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