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Reference News reported on August 14 According to a report by Kyodo News on August 14, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a press conference at his official residence on the 14th and officially announced that he would not participate in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election in September. The Kishida Cabinet will step down in the fall.

"The most obvious first step to show the LDP's intention to reform is that I will step down. I will not participate in the upcoming election for party president," Kishida said at a news conference.

The report said that Kishida's move may be due to his loss of support within the party after the LDP's faction's political fundraising banquet received kickbacks, and he believed it would be difficult to be re-elected. Kishida revealed to people around him the reason for not running for election, saying that "someone must be held accountable" for the kickbacks.

The Kishida administration came to power in October 2021 and will end in less than three years. The LDP will select a successor in the presidential election.

The report mentioned that Kishida had previously explored the possibility of running for election, but the cabinet's approval rating was only over 20%. There were calls within the LDP to replace Kishida, believing that the next House of Representatives election under Kishida's leadership would inevitably be in trouble.

According to AFP on August 14, Fumio Kishida unexpectedly announced on the 14th that he would not participate in the party leader election in September, paving the way for Japan to produce a new prime minister.

Kishida was elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 2021 and his three-year term is due to expire in September. His withdrawal means the new leader who wins the LDP internal election will succeed him as prime minister, as the LDP controls both houses of Japan's parliament.