Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attends a State Department luncheon in his honor in Washington, USA on April 11, 2024.
Craig Hudson | Reuters
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Wednesday that he will not run in next month’s Liberal Democratic Party presidential election.
Kishida told a press conference that it was important for the LDP to have a new face at the helm and that his resignation was the “first step,” according to a Reuters translation. He added that the LDP felt the need to step down to regain public trust.
The Prime Minister also assured full support to the new leader.
Kishida’s decision not to effectively run for re-election means he will step down as prime minister while the party elects a new leader.
He said the decision was taken keeping in mind what is best for the country’s public and to fully exit the country’s deflationary economy and encourage wage and investment growth.
The administration has been embroiled in political finance scandals related to misallocation of party units and underreporting of funds from fund-raising parties. This led to the arrest of the ministers involved. Earlier in January, Kishida The scandal followed the dissolution of the ruling party’s largest bloc.
Kishida said he had “no hesitation” in taking on the leadership of the LDP for “problems caused by members” and that he had to take over as leader since the financial scandal came to light.
A local news agency called Kyodo And The broadcaster is NHK reported the news earlier.
According to NHK’s latest poll25% “support” the Kishida cabinet, 55% do not.
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