Japan PM Shigeru Ishiba Resigns: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned on Sunday, ending an` 11-month premiership dogged from the start by electoral losses, economic malaise, and a deep crisis of trust in the political establishment. His departure, announced at a press conference in Tokyo on Sunday, came just weeks after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner lost their majority in the upper house in the latest blow in a series of setbacks.
“I would like to pass the baton to the next generation,” Ishiba, 68, said, his voice seemingly breaking as he pointed to a trade deal with Washington, his last major act in office, as the right moment to step aside. He also quit the position of LDP party leader but said would continue his duties until a successor was elected.
The resignation, while sudden, is the culmination of a much longer crisis in Japan – one that has been simmering since the assassination of former PM Shinzo Abe in 2022 exposed corruption, church links and fissures in the ruling party, and since then has only deepened with scandals, voter disillusionment and rising economic strain.
The simmering crisis
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For decades, Japan’s LDP, in power almost continuously since 1955, weathered economic stagnation and demographic decline by offering predictability over reform. But the October 2024 snap election, when Ishiba was elected, upended that pattern.
The LDP lost its lower house majority for the first time in years, forcing it into an uneasy coalition with conservative party Komeito. Though the Constitutional Democrats emerged as the second-largest party, they offered no bold alternative. Instead, smaller left- and right-wing groups gained traction, fracturing the political map. Decades of stagnant wages, labour shortages and rising living costs (especially among the younger population) were seen as the reasons behind this.
This unrest was underlined by a series of political finance scandals. After Abe’s death revealed the LDP’s ties to the Unification Church, dozens of lawmakers were found to have benefited from its networks. More than 45 politicians were implicated in kickback allegations, and revelations that party coffers continued to fund discredited candidates further eroded public trust.
Ishiba, chosen as party leader last year after years of failed attempts, was initially seen as a reformist capable of restoring credibility. But once in office, he proved unable to cleanse the party. His reluctance to discipline colleagues implicated in scandals alienated voters, while his rivals within the LDP continued to undermine him.
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The LDP also lost credibility after allegations that even candidates stripped of endorsements were still being funneled party money through local branches. With Ishiba under pressure just weeks into his premiership, the ruling party appeared hobbled and internally divided, leaving governance uncertain and culminating into the scenario today.
Why Ishiba couldn’t survive
The July 2025 upper house election sealed Ishiba’s fate. Inflation, particularly soaring food prices, fuelled voter anger. The ruling coalition lost its majority in the chamber, depriving the LDP of control over both houses in a rare humiliation.
From then on, Ishiba’s position was untenable. His party secretary-general quit after the defeat. Senior figures, including former prime minister Yoshihide Suga and agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, pressed him to go before an internal leadership vote turned into a public showdown.
Ishiba resisted for weeks, warning of a “political vacuum” if he left during sensitive trade talks with Washington. But once he secured a deal with US President Donald Trump, committing Japan to $550 billion of investments in exchange for lower auto tariffs, he framed the milestone as his exit point.
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Markets, already nervous, were spooked further. The yen slid, bond yields spiked, and questions mounted about who could steer the world’s fourth-largest economy out of the turbulence.
What happens next?
The LDP will now hold an emergency leadership race to elect its next PM.
Japan is a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral legislature known as the National Diet. The House of Representatives is the more powerful chamber, elected through a mix of single-member districts and proportional representation. The House of Councillors, with staggered six-year terms, cannot topple a government directly but can stall legislation – a fact Ishiba discovered the hard way.
The prime minister is elected by the Diet and formally appointed by the Emperor. Traditionally, the LDP’s internal leadership contests have effectively decided who leads the country, but this time, it has no outright majority.
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Early frontrunners to succeed Ishiba include veteran leader Sanae Takaichi, who the outgoing PM narrowly defeated in last year’s party leadership run-off and Shinjiro Koizumi, the young farm minister seen as a potential generational reset. Other senior figures, such as Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, may also enter.
But unlike in the past, the next LDP leader is not automatically guaranteed the premiership. Without a majority in either chamber of the Diet, the party will need to cut deals with opposition groups or risk paralysis. Analysts say a snap election may be the only way to secure legitimacy, though a recent Kyodo poll found that 55 per cent of Japanese voters oppose early polls.
AloJapan.com