Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba officially announced his resignation at a press conference

Shigeru Ishiba held a press conference at 6 p.m. local time (5 p.m. Singapore time) on Sunday (September 7th) to officially announce his resignation. "I have decided to resign as the president of the Liberal Democratic Party." "

The Liberal Democratic Party is the ruling party of Japan and has been in power almost all the time for decades. He made it clear that he would not run in the next LDP presidential election. "I think now is the right time, so I made the decision to make way for the successor."

When responding to Japan's diplomatic relations at a press conference, he said, "The Japan-US alliance has been further deepened, and cooperation with like-minded countries has been strengthened. Trust relations have been built with a wide range of countries in Asia, Oceania, Africa, Central and South America."

Shigeru Ishiba, 67, took office in October last year. Less than a year into his tenure, he lost his majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

His original term was set to end in September 2027, but the Liberal Democratic Party has stipulated that if the majority of its members of parliament and regional branches agree, an early presidential election can be held.

The Liberal Democratic Party was originally scheduled to hold a vote on Monday (the 8th) on whether to advance the leadership election by two years. However, due to local media surveys showing that the support rate for an early election is rising day by day, this vote seems increasingly likely to turn into a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. Shigeru Ishiba later said that the vote would be cancelled.

The latest public opinion poll by Kyodo News shows that the approval rating of Shigeru Ishiba's cabinet is 32.7%, a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from the last survey in August. The disapproval rate was 51.6%.

Shigeru Ishiba graduated from the renowned Keio University in Japan and worked at Mitsui Bank before entering politics. In 1986, he was recommended by then Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka to run for a seat in the House of Representatives and was elected for the first time. He has held important positions such as Minister of Defense, Minister of Agriculture, and Minister of Local Revitalization.