Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has informed his ruling party leaders that he will not run in the upcoming party leadership vote in September, meaning Japan will have a new prime minister, Japan’s NHK-TV and other media reported.
Kishida was elected president of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 2021 and his three-year term expires in September.
His withdrawal from the contest means that a new leader who wins the party vote will succeed him as prime minister as the LDP controls both houses of parliament.
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Kishida, stung by his party’s corruption scandals, has been hit by declining approval ratings that have dipped below 20%.
Kishida was to explain his decision at a news conference on Wednesday.
Local election losses earlier in the year eroded his influence, and LDP lawmakers have expressed the need for a new face ahead of the next general election.
Since the corruption scandal broke, Kishida has removed a number of ministers and others from party executive posts, disbanded party factions criticized as the source of money for preferential policies and passed a law tightening laws on the control of political funds. But support for his government has declined.
The scandal involves unreported political funds raised through the sale of tickets to party events. It involved more than 80 LDP lawmakers, most of them from a major party faction formerly led by slain former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Ten people – lawmakers and their aides – were indicted in January.