Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to resign

"TOKYO Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has expressed his intention on Sunday to step down following growing calls from his party to take responsibility for a historic defeat in July's parliamentary election, Japan's NHK public television reported. Ishiba, who took office in October, had resisted growing calls from within his own party to resign for more than a month, saying such a step would cause a political vacuum when Japan faces key challenges in and outside the country."

"His resignation plan comes a day before his Liberal Democratic Party makes a divisive decision on whether to hold an early leadership election, a virtual no-confidence motion against him if approved. Ishiba intends to step down to prevent the party from getting divided further, NHK said. If he had stayed on, he would have inevitably struggled to manage his divided party and minority government."

Shigeru Ishiba plans to step down amid intensifying calls within his party to take responsibility for historic election losses in July and earlier defeats in the lower house. He resisted resignation for over a month, warning of a political vacuum as Japan faces major challenges including U.S. tariffs, rising prices, rice policy reforms and regional tensions. The resignation precedes a party decision on an early leadership vote that could amount to a no-confidence motion. Ishiba met with key figures including Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga before announcing his intention to resign.

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