TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to resign to avoid a split within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), public broadcaster NHK said on Sunday (Sep 7).
Ishiba‘s LDP-led coalition lost its upper house majority in an election in July.
Ishiba, who took office in October, had resisted calls to quit from mostly rightwing opponents within his own party for more than a month.
He had reiterated on Tuesday that he has no immediate intention to resign, saying that he will make a decision on how to take responsibility for the election loss at “appropriate timing”.
“Working on challenges that the party needs to address immediately is one way of taking responsibility,” Ishiba told reporters on Tuesday, citing the need for economic measures for those suffering from inflation or impacts from US tariffs.
Ishiba’s close aide, LDP secretary-general Hiroshi Moriyama, had announced on Tuesday that he will resign from his post. Moriyama’s announcement came after the LDP convened a joint plenary meeting of both houses to assess the election defeat in the upper house election.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
With Ishiba at the helm, the LDP-led coalition has lost its majority in elections for both houses of parliament since coming to power last year, amid voter anger over rising living costs.
LDP lawmakers are scheduled to vote on Monday whether to hold an extraordinary leadership election – a virtual no-confidence motion against him if approved.
Ishiba’s government finalised details of a trade deal with the United States last week.
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