Decision comes after corruption scandals saw support for his party drop below 20 percent.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Aug. 14 local time that he won’t run in the party’s leadership contest in September, paving the way for a new prime minister.
Kishida, president of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), said during a televised news conference that the party must clearly demonstrate to the public a revised image through open and transparent elections.
“The first and most obvious step to show the LDP is changing is for me to step down,” Kishida said. “I will not be running in the upcoming presidential election.
“I will continue to do everything I can as prime minister until the end of my term in September.”
Japan’s NHK public television first reported the news.
Kishida, 67, was elected president of the LDP in 2021. His three-year term expires in September.
The prime minister’s decision means that a new party leader will succeed him since the LDP controls both houses of Parliament.
Kishida said he would give his full support to the party’s new leader, who is expected to lead a transformation, including aiming to end Japan’s deflationary economy, reviving innovation and investment, and restarting and installing new nuclear power plants to meet energy demands.
The new party leadership also will focus on addressing the country’s declining birthrate and strengthening defense capabilities, according to the prime minister.
The decision to step down comes as corruption scandals saw support for the LDP drop below 20 percent.
Following a fundraising scandal linked to the LDP’s most powerful faction, known as the Seiwa policy group, Kishida dismissed several cabinet ministers in December 2023. He removed key party executives, disbanded factions criticized as the source of money-for-favor politics, and tightened political funding laws. Despite these measures, his government’s support has declined.
The scandal involves unreported political funds from party event ticket sales. It implicates more than 80 LDP lawmakers, mostly from the faction previously led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In January, 10 lawmakers and aides were indicted.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.