Following the House of Councillors election in Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced that he will resign from the position by the end of next month despite previously stating that he planned to stay in power, reported Mainichi Newspaper.
Last Sunday, Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party suffered a major defeat when the government coalition lost its majority in the upper house. His vow to stay in power has led to growing opposition, even among his own party. It was the first time in history that the Japanese government will try to remain in power after losing the majority of both houses.
According to the Yomiuri daily, Ishiba, on Tuesday, plans to announce how he would take responsibility for this loss after the trade negotiation with the U.S. has settled. He stated that Japan needed a leader in this difficult time as the U.S.’ tariff could create a huge impact on the nation’s economy.
This report came around the time the U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington had settled a trade deal with Japan. According to Trump’s post on Truth Social media, Japan planned to invest about $550 billion, while opening auto and agricultural markets to the U.S. Additionally, the U.S. promised to reduce tariff rate from 25% to 15%.
