TOKYO, July 23. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has rejected reports from several domestic media outlets suggesting he plans to resign following his Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) defeat in the upper house elections.
"There was no discussion about whether I would remain in office or resign [at the meeting with former Prime Ministers Yoshihide Suga, Fumio Kishida, and Taro Aso]," Ishiba told reporters. "Some media outlets reported otherwise, but I never said anything like that. These reports are simply not true," the prime minister stressed.
Earlier, the Mainichi newspaper reported that Ishiba had informed his associates of plans to announce his resignation by the end of August. Kyodo, citing senior LDP officials, described his resignation as inevitable. Meanwhile, the Yomiuri newspaper reported that Ishiba could step down as early as July.
In the July 20 elections, the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito lost its majority in the upper house of parliament. This marks Ishiba’s second major electoral defeat in less than a year. Last fall, the coalition also lost its majority in the more powerful lower house. Although the parties managed to form a minority government by capitalizing on opposition divisions, pressure on Ishiba to resign has grown steadily since then.
If Ishiba resigns in July, a new prime minister would be elected during an extraordinary parliamentary session scheduled for August. However, as Mainichi notes, it is not guaranteed that the new LDP president would be automatically appointed prime minister. In light of this, Ishiba is reportedly considering delaying his resignation to allow time for consultations with opposition parties.
Following the release of the upper house election results, Ishiba said he intended to remain in office, highlighting ongoing negotiations with the United States as a key reason. After US President Donald Trump announced a bilateral deal on Wednesday morning, Ishiba stated he would first review a report from Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief negotiator for the agreement, before making any further decisions about his future.