Overview

• Shigeru Ishiba told reporters there was no discussion of his resignation during a recent meeting with senior LDP officials
• Yomiuri Shimbun reports he plans to announce his departure in late July while Mainichi Shimbun cites an end-August resignation
• The LDP–Komeito coalition secured just 47 of 125 seats in the July 20 Upper House election, losing its majority
• His government struck a deal with President Trump to cap US tariffs on Japanese imports at 15 percent, averting a threatened 25 percent levy
• The anti-immigration Sanseito party surged from two to 14 seats in the Upper House, highlighting voter discontent