Resignation of Japan’s prime minister

Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s Prime Minister, announced on Sunday that he will step down—a decision that could usher in a prolonged period of political stagnation at a critical time for the world’s fourth-largest economy.

The 68-year-old Ishiba instructed the Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan for nearly the entire postwar period, to immediately organize a leadership contest to select the country’s new leader.

According to Reuters, Ishiba said in a press conference that he would continue carrying out his duties until a successor is chosen.

Since coming to power less than a year ago, Ishiba has seen his party lose its parliamentary majority in both houses amid growing public anger over the rising cost of living.

Until today, he had resisted calls to resign following the party’s latest defeat in the July upper house election. Instead, he had focused on the details of a trade agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump over customs tariffs—a deal that has unsettled Japan’s vital auto industry and cast a shadow over the nation’s already weak economic growth.

Speculation over Ishiba’s future had intensified after the Liberal Democratic Party scheduled a Monday vote on whether to hold an emergency leadership election.