TOKYO, Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida declared on Wednesday he will not pursue re-election as the leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, thereby ending his term as the nation's prime minister.
"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.
His decision to quit triggers
a contest to replace him as party boss and, by extension, as prime minister.
The LDP controls both houses of parliament.
The prime minister vowed to
support the new leader.
The prime minister suggested
his decision stemmed from a desire to pump new blood into the LDP.
"In this presidential
election, it is necessary to show the people that the LDP is changing and the
party is a new LDP," Kishida told reporters in Tokyo. "For this,
transparent and open elections and free and vigorous debate are important."
Kishida's support ratings have
suffered massively lately, dipping below 20%, with his premiership struggling
amid a rising cost of living and a major
funding scandal within his party.
The incident involved over 80
LDP lawmakers, most of whom are part of a major
party faction formerly led by the assassinated
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
No comments:
Post a Comment