The 67-year-old's surprise departure paves the way for a new leader of his governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which currently controls both houses of parliament but has seen support dwindle. "I will devote myself to supporting the new leader ... as a foot soldier," he said, urging party unity to rebuild public trust. "We need to clearly show an LDP reborn. In order to show a changing LDP, the most obvious first step is for me to bow out."
Slumping support for Mr Kishida dipped his approval rating to below 20 per cent. The prospect of electoral defeat had seen growing calls within the party for an alternative fresh face ahead of the next general election, due by the third quarter of 2025. "The new leader needs to be a fresh face, whether that means young or not associated with Kishida, and reform-minded," said Rintaro Nishimura, an associate at Washington-based strategic advisory firm The Asia Group.
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