Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Sunday committed political seppuku and ritually disemboweled his premiership, resigning to keep his honor intact after a bad electoral defeat for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (who are actually conservatives) led to a likely early leadership election on Monday – which would’ve been akin to a no-confidence vote in his tenure, NHK reports.
Ishiba had only been in office since October 2024, a period marked by scandal and defeats for the LDP, losing coalition its majority in a Lower House election shortly after Ishiba took the helm and then falling short of a majority in the lower chamber in the July vote.