Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba reiterates intention to stay in office
Ishiba spoke to reporters on Wednesday after meeting with some of his predecessors at the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo.
He said he was joined by LDP Secretary-General Moriyama Hiroshi in talks with former prime ministers Aso Taro, Suga Yoshihide and Kishida Fumio.
He said they shared a strong sense of crisis and agreed that the party should never become divided.
Ishiba denied media reports that he will resign. He said he cannot afford to create a political vacuum as he must respond quickly to challenges to his policies.
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Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Various tactics to force Ishiba out of power emerge within the LDP
Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers — fuming over Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba staying on despite losing a majority in the Upper House election — are coming up with various tactics to force him out of his post as soon as possible. The party has been thrown into a political power game between those who want Ishiba ousted immediately and those supporting the prime minister, who denied reports Wednesday that he will resign. One of the two tactics under discussion is to hold an official decision-making meeting of party lawmakers that requires the support of a third of them or more to be held. Currently, the party is expected to hold a less formal meeting of party lawmakers on Monday to discuss the outcome of the Upper House election. If Monday's meeting becomes an official one, it could give further momentum to the anti-Ishiba camp and a petition to hold an LDP leadership race could be submitted, among other options. On Friday, LDP lawmaker Hiroyoshi Sasagawa told reporters that he was able to gather enough signatures to hold an official meeting. The anti-Ishiba camp hopes that getting at least a third of the party lawmakers on board for the official meeting will pressure Ishiba to step down. A petition to hold the meeting has reportedly been signed by former members of the now-defunct factions that were led by party heavyweights Shinzo Abe and Toshimitsu Motegi, as well as those in the existing faction led by former Prime Minister Taro Aso. Meanwhile, some LDP lawmakers are going door to door in the political center of Nagatacho, collecting their colleagues' signatures for a petition to move the date for the party's presidential election forward from September 2027, when Ishiba's three-year term ends. Often described as the "recall provision,' a presidential race can be held if more than half of the combined number of LDP lawmakers and one representative from each local chapter asks for one. The provision, however, has never been invoked since it was introduced in 2002. The key would be how widely anti-Ishiba sentiment is spread within the party across the nation. Calls for Ishiba to resign, however, are already spreading among younger LDP lawmakers. The LDP's youth bureau submitted a letter to LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama on Friday demanding that Ishiba and the party's executive members take responsibility for the Upper House election results, effectively urging them to resign. The letter was submitted after 46 out of 47 LDP prefectural chapters participated in an online meeting with the party's youth bureau on Wednesday, in which the majority of participants agreed to submit a joint statement to party headquarters demanding the 'immediate' resignation and replacement of Ishiba and other party executives. Ishiba is set to make a decision on what to do once key events in August are over, including a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the anniversary of the end of World War II on Aug. 15 and an international conference on African development in Yokohama from Aug. 20 to 22. On Friday, Ishiba met with ruling and opposition party leaders to update them on the tariff deal with the United States. But the meeting was overshadowed by a flood of news reports and speculation on what might happen to Ishiba. Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told reporters that Ishiba did not mention anything about his current standing in the Friday meeting. On Wednesday, Ishiba denied reports that he would resign at the end of August after an unusual meeting at party headquarters with three former prime ministers — Aso, Yoshihide Suga and Fumio Kishida — hours after Japan and the United States reached the surprise trade agreement . Ishiba said the party heavyweights did not discuss his resignation, but one of the former prime ministers at the meeting revealed that none of them were supportive of Ishiba's continued leadership. Information from Jiji added
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Editorial: LDP, Japan need new politics amid PM Ishiba's inevitable resignation
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's resignation has become unavoidable. The ruling coalition has now suffered crushing defeats in both chambers of the Diet, losing its majority. Having been handed a vote of no confidence by the electorate, this outcome is only natural. Following last autumn's loss in the House of Representatives election, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito again failed to secure a majority in this month's House of Councillors race. Including the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election in June, the Ishiba administration has now lost three major elections in a row. Yet even now, the prime minister insists, "What matters most is avoiding a paralysis of national politics," and clings to his post. Such remarks, which seem to ignore the weight of the election results, have sparked fierce backlash both inside and outside the party. LDP prefectural chapters across the country are demanding Ishiba's swift resignation. The movement to oust him has accelerated, with mid-level and younger lawmakers calling for the party leadership election to be moved up. Declaration to stay on ignores public will Ishiba, whose base within the party has always been weak, owed his past prominence in leadership races to strong support from local party members. But after repeated election defeats, even these supporters have abandoned him, leaving him politically cornered. With the resolution of Japan-U.S. negotiations over President Donald Trump's tariffs -- which Ishiba described as a "national crisis" -- now resolved, the prime minister's justification for staying on has also evaporated. Ishiba is expected to announce his resignation in response to the LDP's review of its upper house election defeat, which is to be compiled in August. Ishiba was originally chosen as prime minister in hopes of fundamentally reforming "LDP politics." For years, he had criticized the government from within the party for being out of touch with the public. But since taking office, he has appeared to be swallowed up by the LDP's old logic. He has betrayed the public's hopes for a fundamental change in the political status quo. The clearest example is the "money in politics" issue. Ishiba was reluctant to break with the LDP's money-driven culture, which came under fire in the party's factional slush fund scandal. Even after the lower house defeat, he showed little willingness to take responsibility, and sought to preserve corporate and organizational donations that could distort policy. As the nation's leader, Ishiba also failed to present a clear national vision. He kept his own views on diplomacy and national security under wraps, and even his signature regional revitalization policies amounted to little more than a rehash of past efforts. The "Ishiba touch" was never on display. When the LDP was reduced to a minority in the lower house, Ishiba called for a "deliberative Diet" in which ruling and opposition parties would scrutinize each other's proposals to produce better policies. In reality, however, he prioritized cobbling together enough votes to pass LDP legislation, repeatedly compromising in closed-door talks with some opposition parties. This was a clear case of saying one thing and doing another. The LDP has long weathered criticism by simply regularly swapping its leader. The public has seen through the Ishiba Cabinet as just another "pseudo-regime change," leading to widespread disappointment. Time to restore trust in politics The LDP has long led postwar politics as a national party that listens to a wide range of voices. The upper house election has laid bare that this foundation is dissolving. Support groups have weakened, and the old method of exchanging policy favors for "votes and money" no longer works. During the "lost 30 years" following the collapse of Japan's bubble economy in the early 1990s, the party failed to directly address the public's anxiety about their daily lives. As a result, emerging parties have siphoned off support from young people, independents and the middle class, who believe Japan's vitality has been sapped. In the increasingly multiparty upper house, both ruling and opposition parties engaged in a "battle of appeals" during the latest election, touting policies including tax cuts and tougher immigration controls with little regard for funding. But drifting toward such easy populism will prevent the LDP from fulfilling its responsibilities as a governing party. The party must also confront medium- and long-term challenges head-on, such as building a sustainable social security system for a shrinking population, restoring fiscal health, and responding to growing international tensions. Such efforts will also lead to the stabilization of people's lives for the future and the restoration of trust in politics. The real question for the LDP now is whether it can achieve true self-reform and be reborn as a new national party. Simply changing the party leader to create an illusion of renewal will not work. If the LDP does not intend to hand over power to the opposition, it must present a new, broadly supported government framework and a clear direction for the country.
NHK
4 hours ago
- NHK
Calls for official LDP lawmakers' meeting growing after Upper House election
Calls are growing in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party to convene an official decision-making meeting on Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru's responsibility for the party's defeat in Sunday's Upper House election. Ishiba on Thursday received a briefing from the country's chief tariff negotiator Akazawa Ryosei on a trade agreement reached recently with the United States. Ishiba said it is important that he and US President Donald Trump put the deal steadily into force. He again expressed intent to remain in office, saying he will continue working fully to remove anxieties of people in industries that could suffer under the deal. Meanwhile, the LDP leadership plans to hold a meeting of party lawmakers on Monday. It also plans to review the results of Sunday's election by the end of next month. But some in the party say Ishiba's responsibility for the loss as party president should be discussed at the Joint Plenary Meeting of Members of Both Houses of the Diet, which is the party's official decision-making body. Requests from one-third or more of LDP lawmakers are needed to convene a meeting. An initiative to gather lawmakers' signatures in favor of doing so by those who belonged to the former Motegi faction is now expanding to lawmakers of other former factions. Some of them also hope that their action may eventually help move up the party's presidential election now scheduled for 2027. The move requires support from a majority of the party's lawmakers and prefectural representatives. Other LDP lawmakers are refraining from joining the move, saying that they do not want to help invite political confusion. Japan next month will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, and host an international conference. Meanwhile, moves by Liberal Democrats who lost to Ishiba in last year's party presidential election are now gaining attention. Former Economic Security Minister Takaichi Sanae met former Prime Minister Aso Taro on Wednesday and former Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi on Thursday. Nishimura was a senior member of the former Abe faction. Earlier this week, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa held a meeting of lawmakers who belonged to the former Kishida faction, and former Economic Security Minister Kobayashi Takayuki met with those holding similar views.
