Tokyo (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is expected to resign to prevent a division within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, according to local media reports on Sunday. His party members are looking to organise a new leadership contest after poor results in the elections.
Public broadcaster NHK reported that Ishiba chose to prevent a party split, whereas the Asahi Shimbun daily stated that he could not withstand the growing pressure for his removal. The farm minister and a former prime minister reportedly met with Ishiba on Saturday night to encourage him to resign voluntarily.
What role did poor election results play?
The decision follows less than a year after Ishiba became leader of the long-standing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Since then, he has lost control of the majority in both chambers of parliament. Since Ishiba took leadership, the LDP-led coalition has lost its majority in both houses of parliament in elections held since last year, due to voter frustration over increasing living expenses.
LDP lawmakers are set to vote on Monday on the possibility of an extraordinary leadership election. Last week, four senior officials from the LDP, including the party’s number two, Hiroshi Moriyama, proposed their resignation. Opponents of Ishiba had urged him to resign to accept responsibility for the election results.
How did the 2024 lower house vote impact the LDP?
In the Lower House 2024 Election on October 27, 2024, for the first time since 2009, the LDP and its coalition partner, the Komeito, lost their parliamentary majority. The LDP had its second-lowest result in history with just 191 of 465 seats. The CDP, the principal opposition party, took a significant number of seats for a total of 148. Other small parties also made some gains, such as the DPP, Reiwa Shinsengumi, Sanseitō and the far-right Conservative Party.
What parallels exist with past prime minister resignations?
There have been examples in the past where other Japanese Prime Ministers have resigned under comparable circumstances, such as election losses and political pressure. For instance, following a series of corruption scandals involving LDP members and dissatisfaction over escalating living costs, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resigned under pressure in 2024.
His approval ratings hit all-time lows, and he opted not to seek another term as party leader, thus resigning as prime minister when the LDP chose a new leader in September 2024.
