Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida steps down to make way for Shigeru Ishiba

Japan's Prime Minister Kishida resigns, paving way for successor Ishiba; snap election called, new policies proposed for security.

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resigned with his Cabinet on Tuesday (October 1, 2024), paving the way for his likely successor Shigeru Ishiba to take office.

Mr. Kishida took office in 2021 but is leaving so his party can have a fresh leader after his government was dogged by scandals. Mr. Ishiba plans to call a parliamentary election for October 27 after he is formally chosen as Prime Minister later in the day.

“I believe it is important to have the new administration get the public’s judgment as soon as possible,” Mr. Ishiba said Monday in announcing his plan to call a snap election. Opposition parties criticised Mr. Ishiba for allowing only a short period of time for his policies to be examined and discussed in parliament before the national election.

Mr. Ishiba was chosen as the governing Liberal Democratic Party’s leader on Friday (September 27, 2024) to replace Kishida, who announced in August he would resign at the end of his three-year term.

Mr. Ishiba is assured of becoming prime minister later Tuesday in a vote by parliament because it is dominated by his party’s ruling coalition.

Mr. Kishida and his ministers stepped down at a Cabinet meeting in the morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. Mr. Kishida left his office after a brief send-off ceremony in which he was presented a bouquet of red roses and applauded by his staff and former Cabinet members.

“As we face a critical moment in and outside the country, I earnestly hope key policies that will pioneer Japan's future will be powerfully pursued by the new Cabinet,” Mr. Kishida said in a statement, citing the need to bolster security amid a deepening global divide, such as Russia's war in Ukraine, while tackling a declining birthrate and population, as well as economic and political reforms at home.