The ruling party, the Liberal Democrats, which has been in power in Japan almost uninterrupted since 1945, will hold an election next month to elect the new party leader – and subsequently the prime minister.
The 67-year-old Kishida has been prime minister since October 2021. However, recently, he has seen his, and the party's, popularity plummet after rising prices have affected many Japanese people's economy and several scandals have been linked to him.
Most recently, in November, he announced a stimulus package worth 17 billion yen in an attempt to alleviate the inflation pressure and save himself as the country's leader.
Kishida could, in theory, have stayed on until 2025, but growing discontent, also within his own party, has increased the pressure on him in recent times.
It is now necessary to show the people that the Liberal Democrats are changing and are a "new party", says Kishida at a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
The most obvious way to show that is for me to step aside.
