Japanese prime minister resigns after party’s summer election defeat
The article reports that Japanese Prime Minister shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation following a historic defeat suffered by his party in Japan’s parliamentary election in July. Ishiba, who took office in October of the previous year, decided to step down as both prime minister and leader of the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party. Despite resistance to resign earlier, he delayed his decision to avoid a leadership vacuum amid key challenges such as U.S. tariffs, rising prices, and regional tensions. His resignation came after progress was made in tariff negotiations with the United States, specifically following President Donald Trump’s order to reduce tariffs on Japanese goods from 25% to 15%. Ishiba chose to resign to prevent internal party conflict ahead of a possible early leadership election that could have served as a no-confidence vote. He plans to hold a leadership vote in October to select his successor and will remain in office until a new leader is chosen and approved by parliament. The article also notes that Ishiba’s party has lost its majority in both the upper and lower houses of parliament in recent elections, weakening government stability.
Japanese prime minister resigns after party suffered historic defeat in summer election
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced Sunday that he will resign following growing calls from within his party to take responsibility for a historic defeat in July’s parliamentary election.
Ishiba, who took office in October, said he was stepping down as prime minister and as the head of his conservative Liberal Democratic Party.
The 68-year-old centrist had resisted demands from opponents further to the right within his own party to resign. He argued that he wanted to avoid a political vacuum at a time when Japan faces key domestic and international challenges, including U.S. tariffs, rising prices, and growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific.
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Ishiba explained at a news conference Sunday night as he announced his resignation plans that he had intended for some time to take responsibility for his party’s summer election loss but was first determined to make progress in tariff negotiations with the United States. He described it as a matter of national interest.
“Who would seriously negotiate with a government whose leader says he is stepping down?” Ishiba said.
He said the moment had arrived with an order by President Donald Trump on Friday to lower tariffs on Japanese cars and other products to 15% from a previously imposed 25% rate.
“Having reached a milestone in the U.S. tariff negotiations, I decided now is the time to make way for a successor,” Ishiba said.
The resignation came one day before his party was to decide whether to hold an early leadership election, which would have amounted to a virtual no-confidence motion against him if approved.
He said he made the “painful decision to resign” to avert that step because “it would cause a critical division within the party, and that is absolutely not my intention.”
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Ishiba said he would instead start a process to hold a party leadership vote to choose his replacement, which is expected to be held in October. He is to remain as prime minister until a new party leader is elected and endorsed by the parliament.
In July, Ishiba’s ruling coalition failed to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, weakening the stability of his government. The loss followed a defeat in the more powerful lower house, where the party-led coalition lost its majority in October, only two weeks after Ishiba took over.
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