Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to step down, public broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday, less than two months after his party lost its majority in the country’s upper house election.
Mr Ishiba has been in power for less than a year, but faced calls to resign from the right-wing faction of his own party after a bruising defeat in July’s vote, amid discontent from the public over the rising cost of living and economic stagnation.
The conservative LDP and its junior partner Komeito needed to win 50 seats to retain control of the upper chamber, but won 47, as the coalition saw its vote eroded by an increase in support for far-right nationalist parties.
A former defence minister, Ishiba came to power last October as the face of the LDP’s liberal faction. He then called a snap general election as he hoped to cash in on public backing during his honeymoon period. Instead his party lost its majority, throwing the country into the kind of political uncertainty not seen for many years.
Reports of Mr Ishiba’s decision to resign came one day before the LDP was due to meet to decide whether to hold a special leadership election – effectively a no-confidence vote in his administration.
In recent days polls of LDP parliamentarians and regional representatives had shifted significantly against Mr Ishiba. Of those contacted by the Yomiuri newspaper on Friday, 149 said they were in favour of a leadership vote while just 48 said they were opposed.
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