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Japanese PM Shigeru Ishiba Signals Resignation Amid Growing Party Pressure

By The South Asia Times

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed his intention to step down, senior government officials said Sunday, just a day before the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is set to decide whether to hold an early leadership contest.

The move follows Ishiba’s late-night talks on Saturday with former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who reportedly urged him to avoid deepening divisions within the party, according to Kyodo News.

Ishiba, who became prime minister in October 2024, had earlier suggested he could dissolve the House of Representatives and call a snap election to fend off leadership challenges — a threat that fueled backlash within the LDP.

Mounting criticism has centered on Ishiba’s handling of the July upper house election, in which the ruling coalition lost its majority. Pressure has also intensified after Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki, a member of former Prime Minister Taro Aso’s faction, openly demanded a leadership vote, becoming the first Cabinet minister to do so.

Both Suga, the party’s vice president, and Aso, its influential supreme adviser, have called for unity and warned against further divisions.

The LDP plans to begin collecting signatures from lawmakers on Monday to decide whether to trigger an early presidential election — a rare move, as the party has never held a midterm leadership contest by majority decision.

Ishiba, who secured the LDP presidency on his fifth attempt, has faced mounting pressure since the coalition lost its lower house majority last October and again in the July 20 upper house elections.