In the wake of the announcement on Wednesday of a trade agreement between the United States and Japan, Mr. Ishiba expressed his intention to his relatives to leave his duties by the end of August, according to the daily Mainichi. The Yomiuri newspaper says that he will announce his resignation by the end of July, without however specifying the exact date of his departure.
In senatorial elections on Sunday, the government coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD, Conservative right) of Mr. Ishiba suffered a bitter debacle, losing his majority in the upper room. Angry in the face of the scandals undermining the PLD, persistent inflation and the flight prices, voters turned to other parties, including the anti-immigration party Sanséito, founded five years ago with the watchword “Japan first“.
The Japanese press indicates that the calls for the resignation of Shigeru Ishiba have intensified in the PLD since the results of the high chamber election. The 68 -year -old Prime Minister would have waited, however, to communicate his decision to conclude a trade agreement with Washington, just in time before the deadline of August 1 and the imposition of a heavy US customs surcharge.
Mr. Ishiba had taken over the party in September, at his fifth attempt. But his coalition had then lost his majority in the lower room of Parliament in October during anticipated legislative elections, recording the worst PLD result for 15 years.