Britain's ruling Conservative Party suffered heavy losses in the latest local elections, according to the country's media on Sunday.
The Conservative Party lost over 470 seats in council chambers and the control of 10 councils.
The elections this time determine over 2,600 local council seats, from local councilors to regional mayors.
Some local media said that the Conservative Party has suffered one of its worst ever election days.
In the high-profile London mayoral election, candidate of the main opposition Labor Party Sadiq Khan was re-elected a third time, winning 43.8 percent of votes, which was 11 percentage points higher than his Conservative Party opponent.
Local elections in England are seen as a bellwether for the general elections of Britain which has to be held before late January next year.
Based on the results of the local elections as well as the newest public opinion poll, the prospect for the Conservative Party to win the general elections and stay in power is quite bleak.
Britain's ruling Conservative Party suffers heavy losses in local elections
Britain's ruling Conservative Party suffers heavy losses in local elections
The depreciation of Japanese yen has caused an old coffee shop in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan to suffer rising financial strain due to surging import costs.
The coffee shop, with a 50-year history, is facing fund squeeze. The owner, 82-year-olld Hajime Yoneyama said that the depreciation has led to increased prices for imported raw materials, particularly coffee beans sourced mainly from Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia, resulting in a 20 percent surge in purchase costs.
"The purchase price (of coffee beans) has increased by 20 percent. I feel that the prices of vegetables and oil have also increased by at least 20 percent. Now the prices of these things continue to rise, with no sign of stopping. The expenditure situation of the store may become more severe in the future," said him.
Yoneyama said that he had to raise the prices to sustain the coffee shop's operation.
"Recently we had to raise the price. Previously, a cup of coffee cost 500 yen. It's no longer sustainable (without price increases) and now it's up to 600 yen," said the owner.
Furthermore, in an effort to cut costs, the elderly Yoneyama works with just one employee, yet the store business kept crippling. He said that a significant portion of his pension funds is used to cover store expenses and employee wages.
Locals worry that if the weak yen trend persists, the pressure on livelihoods will further intensify.
"The prices of everything are increasing, food, drink, vegetables. It would be great if there was a solution. Medical supplies are also an issue that needs to be considered. I do worry about what the future will bring," said a local resident.
"Not only are labor costs rising, but gas costs are also rising, so operators need to cut expenses, such as advertising expenses, and the work that they originally paid to hire people to do may now be borne entirely by the operators themselves," said another resident.
Japan’s time-honored coffee shop face fund squeeze due to weakening yen
