TOKYO – Defiant but finding himself increasingly isolated within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Sept 7 that he was calling time on a short-lived tenure.
Mr Ishiba, who took office on Oct 1, 2024, will remain as prime minister until the LDP picks a successor.
Bowing in apology and appearing to blink back tears, the 68-year-old leader admitted he had come to a difficult decision that he felt was necessary to stave off a brewing civil war within the party.
“I am deeply sorry to the public for having to step down this way,” he told a 50-minute nationally televised news conference. “I will devote all my heart and soul during my remaining time to tackling policy issues.”
His resignation follows a “turning point” after US President Donald Trump
signed off on an executive order
on a trade deal with Japan on Sept 4, closing a chapter on what Mr Ishiba has long described as a “national crisis”.
“I have always said that I am not attached to my position, and that I will make a decision (on my future) at the appropriate time,” he said.
“As LDP president, I bear responsibility for the election results. Now that negotiations regarding US tariff measures have reached a conclusion, I believe that this is the appropriate time to step down.”
ANN/straitstimes
