Overview

• Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation and will serve in a caretaker role until the Liberal Democratic Party elects a new leader.
• Ishiba tied the timing to the completion of a U.S.–Japan trade deal after President Donald Trump signed tariff reductions, calling it the right moment to step down.
• The LDP–Komeito bloc lost its majorities after July’s Upper House setback, winning 47 of 125 seats as the right‑wing Sanseito surged to 14 seats and the LDP fell to 39.
• Party pressure intensified ahead of the decision, with senior figures offering to quit and, according to reports, a former prime minister and the agriculture minister urging Ishiba to resign.
• Ex‑foreign minister Toshimitsu Motegi became the first to declare for LDP leader, with Sanae Takaichi and Shinjiro Koizumi seen as potential contenders and a party vote reported as possible in October, and observers say the winner will probably secure the premiership despite a fragmented opposition.