Shigeru Ishiba Steps Down: Uncover the Reasons Behind Japan's PM's Shocking Resignation

Tokyo (The Uttam Hindu): Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed his desire to step down. Local media reported this on Sunday, citing senior officials. Members of his ruling party have been demanding new leadership after their failure in the Upper House elections.

Ishiba will hold a press conference on this at 6 pm (local time) on Sunday. The move comes after talks on Saturday night with former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who are close to Ishiba. They are believed to have urged Ishiba to avoid a division in the LDP.

Ishiba took office in October 2024. Japan Today quoted sources close to Ishiba as saying that Ishiba, who took office in October 2024, had expressed a desire to prevent a leadership race in the LDP by threatening to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold early elections. His stance faced strong opposition within the LDP.

The decision comes less than a year after Ishiba, 68, took over the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has lost its majority in both houses of parliament. Public broadcaster NHK said Ishiba took the decision to avoid a split in the party, while the Asahi Shimbun daily said he was unable to cope with growing demands for his resignation. Reportedly, the agriculture minister and a former prime minister met Ishiba on Saturday night and urged him to resign voluntarily. Last week, four senior LDP officials, including the party's second-in-command Hiroshi Moriyama, offered to resign. After the upper house vote in July, Ishiba's opponents had been urging him to step down to take responsibility for the election results. LDP lawmakers and regional officials across Japan, who want a new leadership election, will submit a request on Monday. If the required majority is achieved, a fresh election for the leadership will be held.