Japan PM Kishida says he will step down next month, paving way for new leader

• Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced he will not run in the upcoming party leadership vote in September.
• Kishida, who was elected as president of the Liberal Democratic Party in 2021, is stepping down as his three-year term concludes.
• His decision comes amid declining public support, with his approval ratings falling below 20% due to recent party corruption scandals.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in a surprise move Wednesday, announced he will not run in the upcoming party leadership vote in September, paving the way for Japan to have a new prime minister.

Kishida was elected president of his governing Liberal Democratic Party in 2021 and his three-year term expires in September. Whoever wins the party vote will succeed him as prime minister because the LDP controls both houses of parliament. A new face is a chance for the party to show that it’s changing for the better, and Kishida said he will support the new leader.

“We need to clearly show an LDP reborn,” Kishida told a news conference Wednesday. “In order to show a changing LDP, the most obvious first step is for me to bow out.”

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

Stung by his party’s corruption scandals, Kishida has suffered dwindling support ratings that have dipped below 20%.

In order to achieve policies to tackle difficult situations in and outside Japan, regaining public trust in politics is crucial, Kishida said. He called on aspiring party lawmakers to raise their hands to run for leadership and have active policy debate during the campaign.

“Once a new leader is decided, I hope to see everyone unite and form a dream team to achieve politics that can gain public understanding,” he said.

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Kishida said he has been mulling his possible resignation for some time but waited until he could put his key policies on track, including energy policy that calls for a return to nuclear power, a drastic military buildup to deal with security threats in the region, and improving ties with South Korea, as well as political reforms.

Speculation on potential candidates has landed on a number of senior LDP lawmakers, including party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, Digital Minister Taro Kono, Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office on Dec. 13, 2023, in Tokyo, Japan. (Franck Robichon – Pool/Getty Images)

A winner will replace Kishida as party president, and will be endorsed as the new prime minister in a parliamentary vote soon after. LDP executives are expected to decide next week on the date for the party election.

Since the corruption scandal broke, Kishida has removed a number of Cabinet ministers and others from party executive posts, dissolved party factions that were criticized as the source of money-for-favor politics, and tightened political funds control law. Ten people — lawmakers and their aides — were indicted in January.

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

Local election losses earlier in the year eroded his clout, and LDP lawmakers have voiced the need for a fresh face ahead of the next general election. Major losses in the Tokyo metropolitan assembly by elections in July also added to the push.

President Biden shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during an arrival ceremony at the White House on April 10, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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The scandal centers on unreported political funds raised through tickets sold for party events. It involved more than 80 LDP lawmakers, mostly belonging to a major party faction previously led by assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The assassination surfaced a scandal over the LDP’s decades-old, deep-rooted ties with the Unification Church, for which Kishida has also faced criticism.