Japan’s PM Shigeru Ishiba to resign

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to resign amid mounting pressure from within his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) following the party’s crushing defeat in July’s upper house election, public broadcaster NHK reported on Sunday.

Ishiba, who assumed office in October, had resisted internal demands for weeks but ultimately chose to step down to avoid further divisions in the party, according to the report.

The announcement comes on the eve of an LDP meeting expected to decide whether to call an early leadership election. Such a move would have been seen as a direct challenge to Ishiba’s authority.

NHK said the prime minister is likely to address the public at a press conference later on Sunday.

The ruling coalition, led by Ishiba’s LDP, lost its majority in the 248-seat upper chamber in July, dealing a major blow to the government’s stability. Calls for Ishiba’s resignation intensified after senior party figures, including Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, urged him to quit during talks on Saturday.

Ishiba had previously vowed to stay on, citing the risks of a political vacuum as Japan faces rising economic pressures, U.S. trade tensions, and regional security concerns. However, demands for a new leadership vote grew louder after the LDP’s internal review last week concluded that a “thorough overhaul” of the party was needed in the wake of the election defeat.