Kishida to resign as PM after successor is picked in September

Stepping down lets Japanese leader retain dignity and influence: Analysts

- Walter Sim

Kishida will resign as prime minister after a successor is chosen in a ruling party election in September, he announced on Aug 14, sending shockwaves through the political system.

Japanese leader Fumio The 67-year-old's decision not to seek re-election in the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) internal polls paves the way for a heated contest to succeed him.

As the LDP is Japan's ruling party, its president is by default the prime minister. Mr Kishida's decision means he will renounce office by October after three years in power.

The polling date, which will be finalised by an LDP electoral committee on Aug 20, is believed to be between Sept 20 and 29, according to local media.

The beleaguered Mr Kishida has fallen out of favour with the public over his response to political scandals that he inherited from previous administrations but which came to light only under his watch.

Growing economic pressure and rising costs of living have left many Japanese feeling worse off than before.

And compounding matters are perceptions that Mr Kishida is not a natural orator and political animal, unlike the late former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who survived scandals to become Japan's longest-serving leader.

Mr Kishida's Cabinet approval ratings have stubbornly stayed in the 20 per cent range for months poll pegged him as Japan's most unpopular leader since 1947.

He also finds himself increasingly isolated within the LDP after burning bridges in his handling of a political slush funds scandal. Perceptions are rife that he sacrificed rival factions to save his own skin.

The powerful Lower House, with a maximum term of four years, must be dissolved for a general election by October 2025, while the fixed-term Upper House must go to a vote in July 2025.