Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigns after election losses
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The news: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would resign on Sunday, in efforts to prevent the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from splitting.
The context: The decision comes ahead of a party leadership vote scheduled for Monday, when the majority of LDP parliamentarians were to decide whether to bring forward a leadership election by two years, but increasingly seemed likely to turn into a vote of no confidence in Ishiba to force him from office.
Ishiba said that he would start a process to hold a party leadership vote to choose his replacement and that there would be no need for Monday’s decision.
Ishiba took charge of the LDP less than a year ago and has since lost his majority in both houses of parliament as voters became increasingly frustrated over cost of living pressures.
After his defeat in the upper house in July, Shigeru NHK that he "solemnly" accepted the "harsh result" but vowed to stay on as prime minister. In recent weeks he has faced increasing pressure to step down.
Ishiba’s departure could fuel uncertainty across markets in the coming weeks until the party selects a successor. Those in the running to become next premier of Japan will need at least 20 members of parliament to support their candidacy in order to run.
The winner of the party contest will then have to win a parliamentary vote to become prime minister in a split legislature. The LDP’s ruling coalition still holds the most seats in the lower house, which would likely position its candidate for premier as the most likely to win, but this is not guaranteed.
Possible candidates within the LDP include former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, the current chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, as well as the finance minister Katsunobu Kato.
Speaking at a press conference on Sunday evening, Ishiba said: "With Japan having signed the trade agreement and the president having signed the executive order, we have passed a key hurdle…I would like to pass the baton to the next generation.”
The sources: Reuters, Associated Press, NHK, FT
