Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday announced that he would step down following growing calls from his party to take responsibility for a historic defeat in July’s parliamentary election.
Ishiba, who took office in October last year, had resisted demands from mostly right-wing opponents within his own party for more than a month, saying such a step would cause a political vacuum when Japan faces key challenges in and outside the country.
The resignation came one day before his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was to decide whether to hold an early leadership election, a virtual no-confidence motion against him if approved.
Photo: Reuters
Ishiba during a televised news conference said that he would start the process to hold a party leadership vote to choose his replacement and that there was no need for today’s decision.
If the Japanese prime minister had stayed on, he would have inevitably struggled to manage his divided party and minority government.
In July, Ishiba’s ruling coalition failed to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, further shaking the stability of his government. The loss added to an earlier election defeat in the lower house, where the LDP-led coalition also had lost a majority.
His decision came after he met on Saturday with Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi and his perceived mentor, former Japanese prime minister Yoshihide Suga, who apparently suggested Ishiba’s resignation ahead of today’s vote.
Ishiba had previously insisted on staying, stressing the need to avoid a political vacuum at a time when Japan faces big challenges, including US tariffs and their impact on the economy, rising prices, rice policy reforms, and growing tension in the region.
Since the LDP last week adopted its review of the election loss, which called for “a complete overhaul” of the party, requests for an early leadership vote or for Ishiba’s resignation before today’s results have gained traction.
A conservative heavyweight, former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso, known for his anti-Ishiba stance, and a minister and several deputy ministers in the Ishiba Cabinet had requested an early vote, prompting others to follow suit.
Former Japanese minister of health, labor and welfare Norihisa Tamura told an NHK talk show earlier yesterday that the best way to stop the party divide and move forward is for Ishiba “to settle” the dispute before today’s vote, urging his resignation.
The party has already been distracted from necessary work on economic measures and on figuring out ways to gain opposition support in the next parliamentary session, Tamura said.
With Ishiba stepping down as party leader, the LDP is expected to set a date for its party presidential election, likely to be held early next month.
Possible candidates include Koizumi, as well as ultra-conservative former Japanese minister of state for economic security Sanae Takaichi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, a moderate and the protege of former Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida.
Lacking a majority in both houses, the next LDP leader would have to work with the main opposition parties to get bills passed, or else face constant risks of no-confidence motions.
However, the opposition parties are too splintered to form a coalition to topple the government.
Over the past few weeks, Ishiba successfully got US President Donald Trump to lower the tariff rates the US administration had imposed on Japan from 25 percent to 15 percent.
Ishiba also said he has had his chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, deliver his letter to Trump, stating his wish to work with him to create “the golden era” of the Japan-US alliance, inviting the US leader to visit Japan.
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