Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, said this week that he wouldn’t seek to stay in office.
He said he would step down as the leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The party’s new leader would likely become the next Japanese Prime Minister.
Kishida’s successor is unlikely to fundamentally change Japan’s basic policies, including its military alliance with the U.S. and its recent defence buildup.
Japan’s shaky economy has hurt Kishida’s support. In January 2023, overall inflation hit 4.3%, the highest monthly figure since 1981. Although that was well below the peak in the U.S. and inflation has eased since then, many consumers have felt the pain of higher prices of imported food and fuel. The weak yen has raised the price of imports in yen terms.
The LDP has ruled Japan for most of the last seven decades since its founding in 1955, and is likely to win the next elections, but some party lawmakers fear big losses if Kishida doesn’t go.
Real wages fell for most of Kishida’s term, although they have just begun to rise.
Kishida blamed his poor poll ratings mostly on the funds scandal which involved senior ruling-party lawmakers, some followers of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, taking a portion of funds collected by party factions without reporting it. Kishida said his decision to step down was a way of taking responsibility for the issue.
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