US deal gave confidence to quit: Japan PM Ishiba

JAPAN'S Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced on Sunday that he would step down after less than a year in office, during which he lost his majority in both houses of parliament.

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Opponents of Ishiba had been calling for him to resign following his Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) disappointing performance in a July upper chamber vote.

For long, the 68-year-old centrist, had resisted demands from opponents further to the right within his own party to resign. He argued that he wanted to avoid a political vacuum at a time when Japan faces key domestic and international challenges, including US tariffs, rising prices and growing tensions in the Asia-Pacific.