Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced that he will step down in September, bringing an end to his three-year term, which has been plagued by political scandals.
His decision not to seek re-election as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) paves the way for a new prime minister to address challenges like rising prices.
Kishida emphasized that politics cannot function without public trust and expressed his intent to support the newly elected LDP leader as a regular party member.
His departure triggers a leadership contest within the LDP, which will determine who will take over as the leader of the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Kishida’s declining public support has been attributed to the LDP’s ties to the controversial Unification Church and unrecorded political donations at party fundraising events.
Additionally, there has been public dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to ensure that wages keep pace with the rising cost of living.
The next LDP leader will face the challenge of uniting a divided ruling party and addressing critical issues such as the rising cost of living, geopolitical tensions with China, and the potential return of Donald Trump as U.S. president next year.
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