Calls for his resignation had grown since his Liberal Democratic Party suffered a crushing loss in July
\n Tokyo
\nJapanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced his resignation as president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), just weeks after its ruling coalition suffered a historic defeat in a July election.
\nIshiba\u2019s decision to step down on Sunday comes after he initially resisted calls from within his party to resign over the electoral loss, saying he wanted to make sure that a tariff deal struck with the United States was appropriately implemented.
\n\u201cWith Japan having signed the trade agreement and the [US] president having signed the executive order, we have passed a key hurdle,\u201d Ishiba said on Sunday.
\n\u201cI would like to pass the baton to the next generation,\u201d he added.
\nIshiba will remain as prime minister until the party holds elections to replace him as president of the LDP. His resignation deepens the political uncertainty facing the world\u2019s fourth-largest economy.
\nAfter assuming his role last October, the 68-year-old politician saw electoral defeats wipe out his coalition\u2019s majority in both houses of parliament.
\nThe losses, stoked by voters\u2019 concerns about the rising cost of living, made it more difficult for Ishiba\u2019s government to implement its policy objectives.
\nAmid the country\u2019s growing political instability, Ishiba was urged to resign by mostly right-wing opponents within his party, who viewed him as responsible for the results of July\u2019s House of Councillors election.
\nReports suggested that Japan\u2019s agricultural minister and a former prime minister met Ishiba on Saturday evening to persuade him to step aside.
\nAfter announcing his resignation at a news conference on Sunday, Ishiba said he would begin the process to find his replacement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Calls for his resignation had grown since his Liberal Democratic Party suffered a crushing loss in July Tokyo Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced his resignation as president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), just weeks after its ruling coalition suffered a historic defeat in a July election. Ishiba\u2019s decision to step down on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501523,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-501541","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n