Japan Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba listens as Panama’s President Jose Raul Mulino (not pictured) delivers a speech during their joint press conference after their meeting at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on September 5, 2025. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko / POOL / AFP) (Photo by EUGENE HOSHIKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Eugene Hoshiko | Afp | Getty Images
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced Sunday he will step down from his post after weeks of mounting pressure for his resignation.
“I made a difficult decision to step down,” Ishiba said during a press briefing, in comments translated by Japan’s public broadcaster NHK. He added that it is his “strong wish” for members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to overcome the “difficult divide” within the party.
Ishiba indicated that he had been thinking about his position as prime minister since last year’s election, but that it was a matter of finding the right timing. The prime minister added that he was able to announce his resignation when he saw that certain results were being delivered with a U.S. tariff agreement.
The prime minister called for the LDP to hold an emergency leadership race in which he said he will not take part. He will continue his duties until a new successor has been found, he told reporters.
The world’s fourth-largest economy has been plagued with political uncertainty since the LDP lost its parliament majority in a snap election late last year. The election marked the first time since 2009 that the LDP has lost its majority. Pressure mounted when Japan’s ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in July.
Japan had struggled to reach a trade agreement with the U.S. and protect its massive auto sector from high duties. U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday stateside to implement a trade deal with Japan, with 15% baseline tariffs on most Japanese goods, including autos.
The deal was agreed after months of negotiations, with Washington and Tokyo continuing to haggle over details for weeks before it was signed. On Sunday Japan’s tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said the agreement was “not settled” as the U.S. was yet to issue expected presidential orders on duties for pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, Reuters reported.
Pressure at home
Earlier this week the ruling Liberal Democratic Party released a long-awaited report on why it lost seats in the upper house election in July.
The report ascribed the loss to the lack of appeal for the party’s measures aimed at taming inflation, previous political scandals and weak mobilization of young voters.
Local media reports suggested many key members of the LDP had signaled their intention to resign to the prime minister, while Ishiba had said that he intended to stay on amid calls within his party for choosing another leader.
— CNBC’s Anniek Bao contributed to this report.
