Ishiba to Step Down After One Year in Power

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced his resignation from the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on September 7. Ishiba will step down as prime minister once his successor is elected. His decision brings an abrupt end to a premiership that will have lasted just under a year.

Ishiba's fall comes after consecutive electoral defeats, first in the 2024 Lower House election, then again in July 2025's Upper House contest. This left the LDP in the unprecedented position of holding minority status in both chambers of the Diet.

Although Ishiba initially clung to power, declaring his intent to continue, he ultimately conceded that further governance was impossible. His decision marks not only the collapse of his administration but also a sobering lesson for the LDP on the risks of weak leadership and internal fracture. All eyes are now on when the LDP will hold its leadership election.

An Unlikely Rise

Ishiba had long been a perennial candidate in LDP leadership contests, losing four times before finally capturing the presidency in September 2024. After losing the first ballot to Sanae Takaichi, Ishiba won in the runoff. At the time, Ishiba's strong standing in public opinion polls made him appear the right figure to revive the LDP after a series of funding scandals.

Expectations were high. As one Sankei Shimbun article noted, "Within the party, there was hope that Ishiba could restore public confidence." Yet from the outset, his administration was hobbled by personnel choices. He bypassed strong rivals like Takaichi and Takayuki Kobayashi in favor of close allies such as Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya and Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiichiro Murakami. Shinjiro Koizumi was also drafted as a Cabinet member, later becoming Minister for Agriculture. Critics said Ishiba should have appointed rivals and members of other factions to broaden support, but instead, he filled top posts with close allies.

*Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya at the Prime Minister's Office (©Sankei by Ataru Haruna)*

Policy Drift and Electoral Defeat

Disillusionment deepened when Ishiba abandoned earlier pledges of careful deliberation. During the 2024 leadership race, he had promised to hold a thorough debate in the Budget Committee before calling a snap election. But under pressure from pro-dissolution voices within the party, he reversed course, dissolving the Lower House without deliberations.

The result was a disastrous election for the LDP, compounded by revelations of questionable funding allocations to candidates linked to scandal-tainted factions. A second crushing defeat followed in July's Upper House poll, confirming public disillusionment.

Professor Hiroyuki Kishi of Keio University's Graduate School of Media Design argued that Ishiba's greatest failing was not simply scandal management, but negligence in governance itself. "For nearly a year, he left policymaking to bureaucrats and failed to show direction," Kishi said during the online news program News Soku on September 7.

He pointed to tepid cost-of-living measures, a lack of oversight on controversial foreign labor initiatives, and inaction on party finance scandals. "These were sins of omission," Professor Kishi insisted, noting that previous long-lived governments like Shinzo Abe's succeeded by maintaining a firm grip on policymaking.

No Authority, No Achievements

Ishiba's hallmark had been his sharp rhetoric as an internal critic. Yet as prime minister, he struggled to assert authority. Initiatives such as creating a Fire and Disaster Management Agency or relaunching regional revitalization never gained traction. Even his closest lieutenant, LDP Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama, often overruled him, most notably in blocking talk of a consumption tax cut ahead of the Upper House election.

The resulting impression was of a leader unable to deliver. Reitaku University Professor Rui Sasaki, speaking on Daily WiLL on September 7, described the resignation as inevitable. "The regime lost its backbone," he explained. "Once [Minister for Agriculture] Shinjiro Koizumi and other allies drifted away, Ishiba could not withstand the pressure."

On the night of September 6, Ishiba met at the prime minister's residence with LDP Vice President Yoshihide Suga and Shinjiro Koizumi. Both urged him to step down voluntarily, warning that the party could not afford to split over the timing of the vote.

Collapse of Control

Facing minority status, Ishiba attempted to brand the Diet as a place of "deliberative democracy," open to diverse voices of opposition. In practice, this meant frequent concessions. Policy stances on pensions and health cost reforms shifted repeatedly under opposition pressure, feeding an image of indecisiveness.

Even after the Upper House rout, Ishiba resisted calls to quit, floating even the possibility of dissolving the Lower House again. Yet by early September 2025, party unity had collapsed. Younger LDP lawmakers questioned whether the administration had accomplished anything.

After Ishiba

Moriyama offered a blunt apology: "As secretary-general, I could not fully support the prime minister." He also pledged to explore reforms to allow greater direct participation by rank-and-file party members in leadership contests.

*Shinjiro Koizumi (left) and Sanae Takaichi.*

Attention now shifts to Ishiba's successor. Sasaki suggested that former agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi, backed by veteran Yoshihide Suga, is emerging as a central player in the next race. Other names from the conservative wing, such as Takaichi, are expected to compete.

Professor Kishi argued that Ishiba's downfall carried a clear lesson. Future prime ministers, he said, must "avoid the mistake of inaction" and act as true masters of the Kantei, rather than caretakers for bureaucrats.

Author: Daniel Manning