Japanese PM announces he will step down from ruling party leadership – Observer

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Wednesday that he will step down as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which will mean the end of his term.

In the election for the presidency [do partido]in September, “It is necessary to show the people that the PDL is changing. The most obvious first step to show that the LDP will change is my resignation,” Kishida said at a press conference.

“I will not run in the upcoming election for party chairman,” the Japanese prime minister declared.

“I took this difficult decision with the firm conviction that politics is only possible with the trust of the people. and that we will make progress on political reform,” he added.

The Liberal Democratic Party, in power in Japan almost continuously since 1945, is due to hold internal elections in September to choose its leader and, consequently, the person who will take over as head of government.

This decision to step down as party leader and, consequently, as leader of the government, launches the race for succession, which promises to be indecisive as there is no obvious leader to replace Kishida.

In office since October 2021, Fumio Kishida, 67, has seen the party and government’s popularity ratings plummet, seriously weakened by the inflation affecting Japanese families and the political-financial scandals affecting the LDP.

Kishida’s government’s popularity rating has stagnated at around 25 percent this year, according to a poll by Japanese state broadcaster NHK.

The world’s fourth-largest economy is also struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, with industrial production falling 0.7% in the first quarter of this year.

In November, Kishida had announced a stimulus package in an attempt to reduce inflationary pressure.

After seeing prices stagnate for years, the Japanese have struggled to cope with increases, particularly in energy, since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Despite some recovery in recent weeks, the yen has been one of the world’s worst-performing currencies over the past year, falling sharply against the US dollar.

While this is good news for Japanese exporters, it makes imports more expensive and fuels inflation.

Fumio Kishida, who oversaw improved relations with South Korea, could theoretically have ruled until the fall of 2025.

For months, the PDL (right-wing conservative) has been involved in a political financing scandal, due to alleged payments to party members, accused of having exceeded ticket sales quotas for fundraising events.

Since coming to power, Kishida has been seen as a compromise choice by the LDP.

Elected to the House of Representatives for Hiroshima (west) in 1993, like his father and grandfather before him, the prime minister cultivated a spirit of consensus.

As the leader of a small moderate parliamentary faction of the LDP, he has constantly had to give in to other, more powerful currents in the party, notably the ultranationalist wing controlled by former mentor and former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.

“During this presidential election, I hope that those who believe they have the necessary qualities will actively raise their hands and engage in serious debate,” he said.