- Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Sunday he will step down as leader of the world's fourth-largest economy amid growing political discord within his party.
- "I made a difficult decision to step down," Ishiba said during a press briefing, in comments translated by Japan's public broadcaster NHK.
- It comes after Japan struggled to reach a trade agreement with the U.S. and protect its massive auto sector from high duties.
Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced Sunday he will step down as leader of the world's fourth-largest economy amid growing political discord within his party.
"I made a difficult decision to step down," Ishiba said during a press briefing, in comments translated by Japan's public broadcaster NHK. He added that it is his "strong wish" for members of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to overcome the "difficult divide" within the party.
The world's fourth-largest economy has been
plagued with political uncertainty since the LDP lost its parliamentary majority in a snap election late last year. The election marked the first time since 2009 that the LDP has lost its majority. Pressure mounted when Japan's ruling coalition
lost control of the upper house in July.
Japan had struggled to reach a trade agreement with the U.S. and protect its massive auto sector from high duties. U.S. President
Donald Trumpsigned an
executive order on Thursday to implement a trade deal with Japan, imposing 15% baseline tariffs on most Japanese goods, including autos.
The deal was agreed to after months of negotiations, with Washington and Tokyo continuing to haggle over details for weeks before it was signed. On Sunday, negotiator Akazawa stated that the agreement was still "not settled" as the U.S. had yet to issue the expected presidential orders on duties for pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, Reuters reported.
Pressure at home
Earlier this week, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party released a long-awaited report on why it lost seats in the upper house election in July.
The report ascribed the loss to the lack of appeal for the party's measures aimed at taming inflation, previous political scandals and weak mobilization of young voters.
Local media reports suggested many key members of the LDP had signaled their intention to resign to the prime minister, while Ishiba had said that he intended to stay on amid calls within his party for choosing another leader.
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