TOKYO, Aug. 14 Japan's current prime minister and chairman of the country's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Fumio Kishida will not run for a second term in the upcoming party leadership election in September, Kyodo news agency reported, citing high-ranking government sources.
According to the agency, Kishida has decided not to run for LDP chairman, but the reason for this decision has not yet been disclosed.
As Kyodo later clarified, citing sources, the Japanese prime minister allegedly said that he believes that «someone needs to take responsibility» for the scandal surrounding the concealment of funds received by factions of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan from fundraising meetings for the party with the participation of its politicians.
The kickback scandal cost four ministers, several deputy ministers and three members of the party leadership their posts, and led to the dissolution of most of the party's factions. The prosecutor's office opened criminal cases against 10 people, including three MPs, faction accountants and politicians' secretaries. Intra-party disciplinary measures, including demands for a politician to leave the party, were applied to 39 LDP MPs.
In September, elections will be held for the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, currently chaired by Fumio Kishida, whose rating has been at a record low for several months. The winner will become the country's next prime minister.
Kishida became prime minister of Japan in October 2021. He replaced Yoshihide Suga in this post. Kishida's government was noted for its attempts to «revive» Japan's stagnating economy with the help of a «new capitalism» policy, as well as for expanding military cooperation with the West and countries in the Asia-Pacific region. It was his cabinet that imposed sanctions on Russia after the start of the special operation in Ukraine.