According to NHK, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has made the decision to step down in order to prevent a rift within the LDP, which is currently in power.
Ishiba, who previously denied plans to step down in the wake of a historic defeat suffered in the LDP-led coalition in the July election, said he wanted to ensure that the tariff agreement with the US was properly implemented.
Ishiba has seen electoral losses leave his party with a majority in the more powerful lower house after taking office in October.
The coalition’s policy objectives have been made more difficult by the defeats.
The prime minister has been urged to step down by mostly right-wingers in his party, who have since urged him to accept responsibility for the results of the July election.
Ishiba and a former prime minister met with him on Saturday night, according to reports, to persuade him to resign.
The Japanese government confirmed that Ishiba would hold a press conference later on Sunday, the day before the LDP was scheduled to cast a decision regarding whether to hold an early leadership election. The prime minister’s office has not yet responded to reports of his resignation.
The developments come just days after US President Donald Trump officially announced an earlier agreement in July by lowering the tariffs on imported Japanese cars from 27.5% to 15% in an executive order issued on Thursday.
A 15% levy will be levied against the majority of Japanese exports to the US under its terms.
Source: Aljazeera
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