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Fumio Kishida has announced his resignation as Japanese Prime Minister after three years in office overshadowed by political scandals. He said his resignation was “the best thing for the public.”
The 67-year-old’s surprise departure paves the way for a new leader of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which currently controls both houses of parliament but whose support is dwindling.
“I will dedicate myself to supporting the new chairman… as a foot soldier,” he said, calling for party unity to restore public confidence. “We must show a reborn LDP. To show a changing LDP, the most obvious first step for me is to resign.”
Declining support for Mr Kishida has seen his approval rating drop below 20 percent. Faced with the prospect of electoral defeat, calls have grown louder within the party for a new, alternative face ahead of the next general election in the third quarter of 2025.
“The new leader must be a fresh face, whether that means young or not, associated with Kishida, and reform-minded,” said Rintaro Nishimura, an associate at Washington-based strategy consulting firm The Asia Group.
Mr. Kishida has been under fire from party members over his handling of a scandal involving hidden funds. More than 80 LDP lawmakers are believed to have been involved in the scandal, most of them belonging to a large party faction previously led by assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
He fired a number of ministers and others from the party executive committees, dissolved party factions and tightened party financing laws. But despite his efforts, public support for his government waned and the party suffered losses in local elections earlier this year. Heavy losses in the Tokyo City Assembly elections in July further compounded the misery.
Mr Kishida’s decision will trigger an internal party competition to succeed him as party leader and thus as head of state of Japan.
The LDP’s chosen successor will face challenges such as rising living costs, escalating geopolitical tensions and a possible return of Donald Trump as US president next year.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba has so far expressed his intention to run as LDP chairman. He remains a popular face in the public eye after his time as the ruling party’s number two. Polls published by local media in recent weeks showed the 67-year-old Ishiba as the most popular candidate.
Other interested parties included Digital Minister Kono Taro, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
“He’s been a dead man for some time,” said Michael Cucek, a professor of Japanese politics at Temple University in Tokyo. “There was no way to add up the numbers to get him re-elected,” he added.
Three of the candidates under discussion to succeed Mr Kishida give rise to hope for a breakthrough in Japan’s male-dominated politics.
Experts say the LDP’s need for an image change may prompt it to choose a woman as prime minister. In the past, only three women have run for the party leadership, two of whom ran against Mr Kishida in 2021.
Only 10.3 percent of the members of the lower house of the Japanese parliament are women. This puts Japan in 163rd place among 190 countries in terms of women’s representation in a report published in April by the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union.
In view of increasing inflation, the Japanese central bank unexpectedly raised its key interest rate to around 0.25 percent in July, which led to instability on the stock markets and a significant decline in the yen.
Mr Kishida’s departure could bring tighter fiscal and monetary policy conditions depending on the candidate, according to Shoki Omori, chief Japan strategist at Mizuho Securities in Tokyo.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
