Shigeru Ishiba, Japan's prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party, centre, arrives at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, July 28, 2025. New opinion polls show support for Ishiba’s administration remains low, although surveys also suggest the public sees few good alternatives to the current prime minister. - Bloomberg
TOKYO: Japan’s ruling party will likely debate the fate of beleaguered Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at a gathering in the next few days amid rising calls for a leadership change.
Hiroshi Moriyama, the Secretary General of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Tuesday (July 29) that a plenary meeting will be held in the near future, while he said it remains to be decided what exactly might be discussed at the meeting.
The fate of Ishiba will likely be on the agenda after some LDP lawmakers on Monday stepped up their calls for Ishiba to resign to take responsibility for the party’s election setback on July 20. What’s decided at the coming meeting will have weight because it’s a venue where the party can formally decide on a range of key matters.
Lawmakers could potentially push to bring forward a party leadership election, currently due in about two years, which would effectively force Ishiba to step down or face off against his fellow party members in a vote.
Earlier this month the ruling coalition lost control of the upper house, forcing the LDP to govern without a majority in either house of parliament for the first time since its inception in 1955. Ishiba has been maintaining that he needs to stay on to ensure that the Japan-US trade deal is properly implemented, but calls for his resignation have grown within his party. - Bloomberg
