Japan’s Prime Minister announces his resignation from parliament, paving the way for a new president

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida made a surprise announcement on Wednesday that he will not run in the upcoming party leadership election in September, paving the way for a new prime minister in Japan.

Kishida was elected leader of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and became prime minister in 2021. His three-year term ends in September and whoever wins the party election will succeed him as prime minister as the LDP controls both houses of parliament. A new face is a chance for the party to show it is changing for the better and Kishida said he would support the new leader.

“We must clearly show that the LDP is reborn,” Kishida said at a press conference on Wednesday. “To show that the LDP is changing, the most obvious first step for me is to quit.”

“I will not run in the upcoming election for party chairmanship,” he said.

Due to his party’s corruption scandals, Kishida’s approval rating has fallen to below 20 percent.

Restoring public trust in politics is crucial to dealing with difficult situations inside and outside Japan, Kishida said. He called on prospective party MPs to run for the party chairmanship and to engage in active political debates during the election campaign.

“Once a new chairman is chosen, I hope everyone will come together and form a dream team to pursue policies that will be understood by the public,” he said.

Kishida said he had been thinking about resigning for some time but had waited until he could implement his key policy goals, including an energy policy that includes a return to nuclear power, a drastic military buildup to deal with security threats in the region, improving relations with South Korea and political reforms.

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel praised Kishida’s efforts to take the US-Japan alliance to a new level. He is working closely with President Joe Biden, especially on security, and is building separate trilateral relationships, one with South Korea and one with the Philippines, in the face of China’s growing influence. Biden and Kishida “have literally written the organizational chapter of the next era,” he said.

But the leader of the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), Kenta Izumi, said Kishida may have given up on party reforms and the investigation into corruption scandals.

“When the party is in crisis, the LDP has repeatedly changed prime ministers and party leaders to ensure its own survival, in order to achieve a fresh start and make voters forget the past,” Izumi said. “This is their strategy and people should not be fooled by it.”

A number of senior LDP lawmakers are considered potential candidates, including Kishida’s rival and party secretary general Toshimitsu Motegi and former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, a voter favorite. Three other challengers to Kishida in the 2021 election – Digital Minister Taro Kono, Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi and former Gender Equality Minister Seiko Noda – are also considered potential contenders.

A winner will replace Kishida as party leader and be named the new prime minister in a parliamentary election soon after. The LDP leadership is expected to set the date for the party election next week, which is expected to be held sometime between September 20 and 29.

Since the corruption scandal broke, Kishida has sacked a number of cabinet ministers and others from party leadership positions, dissolved most party factions that were criticized as sources of cash-for-favors politics, and tightened a law to control political funds. In January, 10 people – lawmakers and their staff – were indicted.

Despite Kishida’s efforts, support for his government dwindled.

Defeats in local elections earlier this year have undermined his influence, and LDP lawmakers have expressed the need for a fresh face ahead of the next general election, which could be held sometime in October 2025. Big losses in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly elections in July have also added to the pressure.

The scandal revolves around unreported political donations raised through ticket sales to party events. More than 80 LDP lawmakers were affected, most of them from a large party faction previously led by assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The killing exposed a scandal over the LDP’s decades-long, deep-rooted ties to the Unification Church, for which Kishida has also been criticized.