Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba resigns

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced his resignation, saying he has decided to avoid divisions within his party and political uncertainty, Reuters reported on Sunday (September 7).

A spokesman for the prime minister's office did not immediately comment on the resignation, but Ishiba will hold a news conference at 6 p.m. local time.

Ishiba's coalition has lost its majority in both houses of parliament since coming to power in September last year. Rising living costs and voter discontent are seen as the main reasons. Ishiba rejected calls from within his party to resign after his defeat in the July upper house election. The political uncertainty caused a major collapse in the yen and Japanese government bond markets last week, and the yield on 30-year bonds reached an all-time high.

If Ishiba resigns, his last major decision will be to implement a $550 billion trade deal with the United States, through which the US president has promised to cut tariffs on Japan's auto industry.