In a surprising turn of political events, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said that he will step down from his post, he announced on Sunday. It happened a month after his party faced a major defeat in the Japanese Parliament, NHK World reported.
NHK World was the first to break the news of Ishiba’s resignation.
In July, Ishiba’s coalition lost the majority in the upper house elections. This followed a similar setback last year when his party failed to gain a majority in the lower house of Parliament.
Despite losing its majority in both houses of Japan’s parliament, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru initially promised to stay in office to avoid a “political stalemate,” according to Kyodo News.
Ishiba, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said he would not resign in order to maintain leadership during what he called a “national crisis,” with rising living costs and possible US tariffs affecting households.
Even after acknowledging his huge responsibility for the party’s electoral losses, he reaffirmed in August that he would continue as Prime Minister, despite growing pressure for him to step down. The LDP held an important meeting following the election setbacks to discuss the situation.
According to Kyodo News, during a joint session with LDP lawmakers from both houses, party leaders said the election committee is considering an early leadership vote, originally scheduled for 2027.
Earlier in July, most attendees at an informal meeting reportedly asked Ishiba to take responsibility for the defeat and resign. In the elections, the LDP-Komeito coalition fell from 141 to 122 seats in the 248-member upper house, failing to secure a majority.
