PM Ishiba of Japan denies rumors that he plans to step down
Prime Minister Ishiba of Japan has denied rumors that he is stepping down, saying that he has not yet chosen to do so.
Quit, even though a source and news outlets said he was going to do so after the disappointing results of the upper house election.
At party headquarters, the 68-year-old leader responded to the news by telling reporters, “I have never made such a statement…” The news stories about facts are not true at all.
There were rumors that Ishiba was leaving just one day after he and President Trump announced a trade deal that lowers tariffs on Japanese cars coming into the US and saves Tokyo from having to pay more taxes on other goods.
An unnamed source close to the prime minister said that Ishiba had put off resigning on purpose so as not to upset the political environment before the August 1 deadline for finishing the trade deal.
A number of Japanese news outlets, though, say that Ishiba wants to formally step down next month.
If confirmed, Ishiba would be leaving his job less than a year after starting. This is expected to lead to a leadership race within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which is currently in power. New politicians, mostly on the right, are putting more and more pressure on the party.
Among them is the far-right Sanseito group, also known as “Japanese First.” It made big gains in Sunday’s election, going from having one place in the 248-member upper house to having fourteen. People are supporting the party because they say they will cut down on immigration, lower taxes, and help families who are having a hard time with rising costs of living.
Former defense minister Ishiba won the party’s leadership in a vote against hardliner Sanae Takaichi on his fifth try last year.
If he resigns, his replacement would have a tough job because the LDP doesn’t have a majority in either house of government because it lost the lower house elections last October.
The new leader would have to get enough support from lawmakers in the opposition right away to be confirmed as prime minister. The source says that a new leader probably won’t call for an early election because they would rather improve the party’s reputation first before asking for a new mandate.
