Japan PM plans to resign after election debacle

Having done a trade deal with US President Donald Trump, Japan’s prime minister will soon announce his resignation, reports said Wednesday, after his latest election debacle left his coalition without a majority now in both houses of parliament.

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The reports said Shigeru Ishiba had conveyed his intention to step down to those close to him, following the announcement Wednesday of a US-Japan trade deal.

Sunday’s upper house election was calamitous for Ishiba’s center-right Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed almost continuously since 1955.

Voters angry at inflation turned to other parties, notably the “Japanese first” Sanseito, whose “anti-globalist” drive echoes the agenda of populist movements elsewhere.

Ishiba plans to vacate the top job by the end of August, the Mainichi daily reported. The Yomiuri newspaper said he would announce his resignation in July but did not give details of when he would leave office.