Japan PM Kishida to step down as scandals prove too much

14/8/2024 11:35

        Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he will step down in September, ending a three-year term marred by political scandals and paving the way for a new premier to address the impact of rising prices.
        
        "I will continue to do everything I can as prime minister until then end of my term in September," Kishida said in a televised press conference on Wednesday to announce his decision not seek re-election as Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader.
        
        His decision to quit triggers a contest to replace him as party boss, and by extension as the leader of the world's fourth-biggest economy.
        
        Kishida's public support eroded amid revelations about the party's ties to the controversial Unification Church, and more recently, unrecorded political donations made at LDP fundraising parties.
        
        The successor the LDP chooses will have to unite a fractious ruling group and tackle likely further increases in living costs, escalating geopolitical tensions with China, and the potential return of Donald Trump as U.S. president next year.