Japan's PM Ishiba denies he has decided to quit

FILE PHOTO: Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a press conference at the headquarters of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Tokyo on July 21, 2025, the day after the prime minister's coalition lost its upper house majority. PHILIP FONG/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba denied on Wednesday he had decided to quit after a source and media reports said he planned to announce his resignation to take responsibility for a bruising upper house election defeat.

Asked about media reports that he had expressed his intention to step down as early as this month, the 68-year-old leader Ishiba told reporters at party headquarters on Wednesday: "I have never made such a statement...The facts reported in the media are completely unfounded."