Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has denied reports he plans to announce his resignation over a historic defeat of his ruling party in a weekend election, saying instead he wanted to make sure a new tariff agreement with the United States is ...

(Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba denied talk on Wednesday that he had decided to quit after a source and media reports said he plans to step down following a bruising upper house election defeat.

Mr Ishiba, who has faced mounting criticism from within his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after his coalition lost its majority in Sunday’s upper house election, has reportedly informed close aides of his intention to resign.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba refuted rumors about his resignation following a setback in the upper house election. With crucial trade talks with the U.S. in progress, he delayed any immediate decision.

The yen carry trade that crashed and burned last year may end up being one of the biggest beneficiaries of Japan’s seismic election result.