TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Wednesday he would step down next month, a move that sets off a scramble among would-be successors to replace him as head of the world’s fourth-largest economy. Click here for a rundown of likely candidates aiming to aiming to succeed Kishida as Japan’s premier. Kishida has been prime minister for almost three years, a relatively long tenure in modern Japanese politics.
Yet his administration had become unpopular due to a slush fund scandal and controversy over the ruling party’s connection to the former Unification Church. The economy also hurt his popularity. Households were battered as price increases outpaced pay rises.
For months, public support for Kishida and his cabinet languished below the 30% in opinion polls that is typically seen as a trigger for new elections or leadership change. Under Japan’s parliamentary system, the leader of the ruling party, or coalition of parties, becomes prime minister. For almost all of Japan’s post-World War II history, that has meant the premier has hailed from Kishida’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The LDP must hold a leadership race every three years. The next one is due to be held in September although the dates have yet to be set. Candidates need 20 signatures from LDP parliamentarians to run for leadership of the party.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi are among those seen as frontrunners. Political factions .