Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will not seek re-election as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), stating that the party needs a “new start.”
The 67-year-old LDP veteran is expected to step down as Prime Minister after the party elects a new leader in September. Support for Mr. Kishida has declined following a corruption scandal within his party and as his government struggles with rising living costs and a slumping yen.
Last month, his approval ratings plummeted to 15.5%, the lowest for a Prime Minister in more than a decade.
Within the party, some members have expressed doubts about Mr. Kishida’s ability to lead the LDP to victory in the next general election, scheduled for 2025. The LDP has been in power almost continuously since 1955.
Analysts have described Japan as undergoing a “once-in-a-generation” political crisis as the ruling party strives to restore its image. Last December, four LDP cabinet ministers resigned within a fortnight due to a fundraising scandal involving the party’s most powerful faction.
Five senior vice-ministers and a parliamentary vice-minister from the same faction, formerly led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, also stepped down. Japan’s prosecutors have launched a criminal investigation into whether dozens of LDP lawmakers received proceeds from fundraising events that kept millions of dollars off official party records.
This scandal has unfolded as Japanese households face soaring food prices, rising at the fastest rate in nearly half a century. The world’s fifth-largest economy has long remained stagnant, with average incomes stagnant for 30 years while the population ages rapidly.
