MOSCOW, July 23 (UNI) Japan’s embattled Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba may announce his resignation by the end of August, Japanese newspaper The Mainichi reported today.
The reports came shortly after US President Donald Trump announced that he had reached a “massive Deal” with Japan, and days after Ishiba’s governing coalition lost its majority in the country’s upper house.
Meanwhile, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported that Ishiba plans to announce his resignation already by the end of July to take responsibility for the ruling coalition’s defeat in the recent upper house elections.
On Sunday, the Japanese ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito party failed to secure the 50 seats they needed for parliamentary majority in the upper house. The ruling coalition now has 122 of 248 seats, compared to 141 seats before the election. The opposition, on the other hand, has significantly increased its presence in the upper house, now holding 126 seats.
After the election, the prime minister said he had no plans to resign, reshape the government or expand the coalition.
