Overview

• Ishiba announced his resignation on September 7 and said he will initiate procedures for a party congress to choose his successor, with a leadership vote expected in October.
• Pressure peaked after meetings with former prime minister Yoshihide Suga and Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, and after senior LDP officials including Hiroshi Moriyama offered to quit.
• Ishiba had initially resisted calls to step down and at one point threatened to dissolve the lower house and call early elections.
• Financial markets reacted to the political uncertainty with a weaker yen and heavy selling of 30‑year Japanese government bonds, pushing yields to record levels.
• Potential contenders include Shinjiro Koizumi, Sanae Takaichi and Yoshimasa Hayashi, as the LDP governs without control of either chamber for the first time since its 1955 founding.