Overview

• Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he intends to step down less than a year after taking office, according to new reports and his own statement.
• NHK reported he decided to prevent internal division, while Asahi Shimbun said mounting calls for his resignation proved decisive.
• Ishiba said he will begin preparations for a party leadership contest, avoiding a planned move by LDP lawmakers to force a decision as soon as Monday.
• The LDP lost its lower-house majority after the October 2024 snap election and then lost the upper house in July 2025, leaving the coalition in the minority in both chambers.
• Internal pressure intensified last week when four senior LDP officials, including deputy leader Hiroshi Moriyama, offered to resign, and local reports said an agriculture minister and a former prime minister urged Ishiba to quit.