Shigeru Ishiba quits dream job as Japan PM

TOKYO: Japanese prime minister Shigeru Ishiba Sunday said he had decided to step down, following calls for him to take responsibility for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s poor performance in upper house elections in July.

The 68-year-old has been at the party’s helm for less than a year — a job he only won on his fifth try.

Ishiba said he would “step aside and make way for the next generation”, after members of his LDP had pushed for his resignation and a fresh leadership election.

It was a rapid and brutal fall for Ishiba, the son of a regional governor and member of Japan’s small Christian minority.

His resignation, though, will also be unwelcome turbulence for his party, which has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955.

Seen as a safe pair of hands, he won the party leadership in September 2024 to become the 10th LDP man to serve as prime minister since 2000.

Ishiba had pledged to “create a new Japan” and revitalise depressed rural regions, and address the “quiet emergency” of Japan’s shrinking population.

He immediately called lower house elections for October 2024 but that backfired spectacularly, with the LDP suffering its worst result in 15 years.

That performance robbed the LDP and its coalition party Komeito of their majority, forcing them to bargain with opposition parties to pass legislation.

Then came the July vote that cost him the majority in the upper house, a result that fuelled resignation speculation.

His government’s popularity ratings plummeted during its short tenure, with voters angry about price rises, especially for rice that is twice as expensive as a year ago.

Ishiba, the father of two daughters, also appointed only two women to his cabinet, down from five under predecessor Fumio Kishida.

A major challenge has been dealing with US President Donald Trump, who has imposed painful tariffs on Japanese cars, steel and aluminium.

One bright spot was Trump’s signing an order Thursday to lower tariffs on Japanese autos to 15 percent instead of 27.5 percent.

The outcome marked a win for Japan, though it came weeks after the two countries initially unveiled a trade pact in late July and then appeared to diverge on its details.

Ishiba secured an early invitation to the White House in February and sent his tariffs envoy to Washington repeatedly.