"Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expected to announce resignation by end of August"

There have been reports in the Japanese media that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is expected to announce his resignation by the end of August.

Mainichi Shimbun reported on the 23rd, "Prime Minister Ishiba has firmed his intent to announce his resignation by August, based on the LDP's overall review of the House of Councillors election to be finalized that month, and has conveyed this to those around him." On the afternoon of the same day, Prime Minister Ishiba is expected to discuss his resignation in talks with Taro Aso, Senior Advisor of the LDP, Yoshihide Suga, Vice President of the LDP, and Fumio Kishida, former Prime Minister of the LDP.

Mainichi added, "After the heavy defeat in the House of Councillors election, calls for resignation and criticism of Prime Minister Ishiba have been mounting within the party, so there is a possibility that the timing of his decision could move forward."

The LDP executive initially planned to hold the joint session of both houses on the 31st, but has moved it up to the 29th to begin the overall review of the House of Councillors election. After completing the review in August, the executive intends to determine the direction of its responsibility. Seiji Kihara, LDP's Election Strategy Committee Chairman, has expressed his intention to resign after completing the verification and review, and the fate of the Prime Minister, who is also party president, will also be decided.

Mainichi noted, "If the Prime Minister resigns this month, a prime ministerial nomination election will be held at a special session of the Diet next month. However, with the LDP being a minority party, there is no guarantee that the party president will become Prime Minister," adding, "They are considering delaying the announcement until next month or later to ensure time for consultations with opposition parties over the nomination."

Tokyo = Il-gyu Kim, Special Correspondent