Japanese PM Ishiba to resign 2 days after pledging $550B in US investments

New Delhi: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has decided to step down, aiming to prevent a deeper split within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), according to reports from public broadcaster NHK and senior government officials.

The development comes just two days after the implementation of a landmark US-Japan trade deal, under which Japan pledged $550 billion in investments into American projects, amid ongoing tariff negotiations with the US. 

The timing has sparked speculation about potential external pressures, given Japan's historical wariness toward foreign economic influences.

Ishiba's brief tenure, which began in October 2024 following Fumio Kishida's exit, has been plagued by internal LDP discord stemming from a lingering slush fund scandal that erupted in 2023-2024. 

The scandal contributed to the LDP's electoral setbacks, including losing its House of Representatives majority in a snap election last October and its upper house majority in July 2025. 

Ishiba, a veteran LDP figure with repeated leadership bids in 2012, 2018, and 2020 before succeeding in 2024, formed his own faction in 2015 but struggled to unify the party amid plummeting approval ratings, which hit a low of 23% in July. 

Adding to the instability is the surge of the far-right Sanseito party, an anti-immigration group often likened to Trumpism for its "Japanese First" rhetoric and xenophobic stance. 

Sanseito gained 14 seats in the July 2025 House of Councillors election, boosting its total to 15 and capitalizing on voter discontent with LDP policies.