Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced his decision to resign in order to prevent a split within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), according to a report by the Japanese public broadcaster NHK on Sunday.
The government has stated that Ishiba will hold a press conference at 6 pm IST. Ishiba's resignation comes one day before the party was scheduled to vote on whether to hold an early leadership election. If approved, this election would have been seen as a virtual no-confidence motion against him.
According to the Associated Press, Ishiba's decision to step down came after he faced increasing pressure from within his party to take responsibility for its significant defeat in the July parliamentary election.
The LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, lost their majority in a Lower House election. The LDP-led coalition also lost its majority in the upper house during the July election. The inability of Ishiba's ruling coalition to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house further destabilised his government.
Ishiba, who took office in October, had resisted demands from his right-wing opponents within the party for over a month before making this decision.
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