Japan: Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announces resignation

Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation almost two months after the defeat of his party in the election as a Japanese upper house. He decided to resign as chairman of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Ishiba said on Sunday at a press conference in Tokyo. He continued to announce that he continued to perform his tasks until the election of a new party leader.

The 68-year-old Ishiba had only taken over the position of head of government last year. There has been speculation about Ishiba’s possible resignation for weeks. In his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Ishiba was increasingly exposed to criticism and claims for resignation due to the loss of the parliamentary majority. The speculation about Ishiba’s political future had increased after the LDP had set a vote on an extraordinary new election of the party leadership for Monday. The head of the government party is traditionally also prime minister in Japan.

Ishiba’s coalition from LDP and its junior partner Komeito lost the majority in the election for the parliamentary election in July after the majority in the more powerful lower house in October. Since then, Ishiba’s coalition has been a minority government. The right -wing populist party Sanseito had gained several seats in the election. The party had caused a sensation internationally. The background is the resentment among the population about increased cost of living.

Japan’s Minister of Agriculture and a former head of government are said to have met Ishiba on Saturday evening in order to move him to a voluntary resignation. Last week, four high -ranking members of the LDP, including its Secretary General Hiroshi Moriyama, had already offered their resignation.

After the defeat in the Oberhaus election in July, Ishiba had rejected the demanding demands of withdrawal from his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Instead, he focused on concluding a trade agreement with the United States in the past few weeks. He was able to mitigate the special tariffs raised by US President Donald Trump for the auto industry important in Japan. In return, he agreed to investments of over $ 550 billion in the United States. “After Japan signed the trade agreement and the president signed the decree, we took an important hurdle,” said Ishiba in a visibly moving voice. “I would like to pass on the staff to the next generation.”

According to experts, a successor to Ishiba could call for new elections to strengthen his mandate. However, almost 55 percent of the survey of the Kyodo news agency published on Sunday consider an early choice to be unnecessary.

Ishibas party rival Sanae Takaichi and Minister of Agriculture Shinjiro Koizumi are traded as possible successors. Takaichi was just inferior to Ishiba in the runoff election around the LDP chairmanship last year and is considered a supporter of an expansive fiscal and monetary policy. Koizumi had made a name for himself with his fight against the rapidly rising prices. “While no major changes are expected from Koizumi, Takaichi’s attitude to the expansive fiscal policy and their cautious approach in interest rate increases could be observed closely by the financial markets,” said Economist Kazeta Maeda from Meiji Yasuda Research Institute.

Note: This article has been updated and further information was added.