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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in September, ending three years in office and months of speculation about his ability to survive a political fundraising scandal and rising living costs.
At a news conference Wednesday, Kishida said he would not run again in next month’s internal race for the LDP presidency, which effectively gives its incumbent the post of Japanese prime minister.
“The first and clearest step to show that the LDP is changing is for me to resign,” Kishida said. “I will not run in the next presidential election.”
The move follows months of low approval ratings and a political funding scandal that forced Kishida to fire four cabinet ministers last year.
Kishida, 67, came to power in October 2021 on a promise to usher in a “new capitalism.” But his administration’s approval ratings have fallen well below the 30% level that brought down previous Japanese leaders.
The yen strengthened 0.3 percent to ¥146.43 per dollar, while stock markets were mixed. The country’s benchmark Topix index gained 0.5 percent while the more export-oriented Nikkei 225 lost 0.2 percent.
Kishida’s successor will be Japan’s third prime minister since the late Shinzo Abe, who resigned in 2020 and was the country’s longest-serving prime minister.
By withdrawing from the LDP leadership race, Kishida opens the way for multiple candidates to compete for the post.
Speculation among political analysts has already focused on former Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and former Foreign Minister Taro Kono. Kishida told reporters that it was “important to show a new face of the LDP in this leadership race.”
The LDP has not announced the date of the elections, but people close to the ruling party have said they will likely be held around September 20.
Additional reporting by William Sandlund in Hong Kong
