Japan Set for a New Leader as Premier Kishida Steps Aside

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida won’t run for a second term as leader of the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party in September, opening the way for a race to succeed him as premier.

“I will devote myself to supporting the new leader selected through the presidential election as a foot soldier,” Kishida said at a nationally broadcast news conference on Wednesday.

Support for Kishida has been in decline for months amid voter frustration over his handling of a wide-ranging party slush-fund scandal, ongoing inflation and a slump of the yen. Kishida, who took office nearly three years ago, said the series of political finance scandals has eroded trust and weighed on his decision.

Kishida’s government and the central bank have sought to show a united front and restore calm to financial markets, after the biggest stocks plunge in more than three decades this month triggered criticism of monetary policy tightening and cast a shadow over efforts to get households to invest their assets.