07.09.2025 16:55
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who reached a trade agreement with the U.S. government last week, announced that he would resign from the position of Prime Minister and the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), citing the results of the elections in July as the reason.
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Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he would resign from the Prime Ministership and the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) citing the results of the July elections. According to state television NHK, Suga addressed the impact of the results of the House of Councillors (Sangiin) elections held in July during a press conference in the capital Tokyo.
ANNOUNCED HIS RESIGNATION DECISION
Recalling that the ruling LDP and its coalition partner Komeito lost their parliamentary majority in the elections, Suga expressed that their election goals were not met. He stated that he would resign from the Prime Ministership and the presidency of the LDP, taking responsibility for the defeat of the ruling LDP in the elections.
Suga argued that if the ruling party "remains the same old party and appears to have changed nothing" despite the election defeat, it would not be able to exist in the future, saying, "Although I believe there are still things we need to achieve, I made a difficult decision to resign."
HIS GREATEST REGRET
Expressing deep regret for not meeting expectations in the elections as the leader of the LDP, Suga emphasized that he aimed to "prevent a definite split" within the ruling LDP with his resignation. Suga noted:
"(In the LDP) it should not become a party that thinks 'there's no problem as long as I'm happy.' It needs to be a true people's party where tolerance and inclusivity exist. I apologize to the people of Japan for having to resign in this way. I am truly sorry. We still have not been able to alleviate the public's distrust, especially regarding politics and money. This is my greatest regret."
TRUMP HAD SIGNED A DECREE
Suga noted that the negotiation process regarding the customs tariff agreement with the United States was among the reasons for his resignation, claiming that the negotiations had "reached a turning point." He expressed his desire for the next LDP leader to maintain stronger relations with regional partners, including the United States, and stated that he would not compete in the LDP leadership election expected to take place within the week.
U.S. President Donald Trump had signed a presidential decree on Thursday reducing the customs tariffs on Japanese car imports from 27.5% to 15%.
HOUSE OF COUNCILLORS ELECTIONS
In Japan, voters went to the polls on July 20 to determine the fate of half of the total 248 seats in the upper house, which are contested every three years.
While the 123 seats held by the ruling and opposition parties remained the same, the new owners of the other 125 seats were determined. According to the results, the ruling coalition failed to achieve its target of at least 50 seats in the elections and lost its majority in the upper house.
The ruling coalition, which currently has 75 seats, obtained 47 seats in the elections but did not reach the target of 125 seats for a majority.
Thus, the ruling coalition, which lost its majority in the lower house in the 2024 elections, faced the same fate in the upper house this year.
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