Japan set for new Prime Minister as Kishida bows out as party leader

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Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will not seek re-election as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), stating the party needs a “new start.”

The 67-year-old LDP veteran is expected to step down as Prime Minister after the party elects a new leader in September.

Support for Mr. Kishida, who has been Prime Minister since 2021, has declined due to a corruption scandal involving his party, rising living costs, and a slumping yen.

His approval ratings plummeted to 15.5% last month, the lowest for a Prime Minister in more than a decade.

“In the upcoming presidential election, it’s necessary to show the people that the Liberal Democratic Party will change,” Mr Kishida said at a press conference on Wednesday announcing his decision.

“A transparent and open election, and free and open debate are important. The first easy-to-understand step that indicates that the LDP will change is for me to step back,” he said.

Within the party, some have questioned whether Mr. Kishida can lead the LDP to victory in the next general election, due in 2025. The party has been in power almost continuously since 1955.

Still, LDP leaders were taken aback by Mr. Kishida’s announcement. A senior leader told broadcaster NHK that he had tried to persuade Mr. Kishida to run for office, but the Prime Minister said it would have been “irresponsible.”

A member of Mr. Kishida’s faction in the party called the decision “very regrettable and unfortunate,” adding that the Prime Minister “had a good record in foreign policy, defense policy, and domestic politics, but he was forced to step down due to the issue of politics and money.”

Analysts have told the BBC that Japan is experiencing a “once-in-a-generation” political crisis as the ruling party struggles to clean up its image.

Last December, four LDP cabinet ministers resigned within a fortnight over a fundraising scandal involving the party’s most powerful faction. Five senior vice-ministers and a parliamentary vice-minister from the same faction, formerly led by the late PM Shinzo Abe, also quit.

Japan’s prosecutors launched a criminal investigation into whether dozens of LDP lawmakers received proceeds from fundraising events that kept millions of dollars off official party records.

Mr. Kishida’s handling of the fundraising scandal drew public criticism, further diminishing his popularity. The controversy also unfolded as Japanese households struggled with food prices soaring at the fastest rate in almost half a century. The combination of economic woes and political scandal fueled mistrust in the ruling party, despite a weak and divided opposition.

“From now on, the entire political situation will be in flux,” Jun Azumi, an MP from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party told NHK, after Mr Kishida’s announcement