Japan’s next PM will face a problem that won’t go away with Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation

<p>The ruling Liberal Democratic party is still grappling with the fallout from a years-old funding scandal that may see it go into opposition for just the third time in its history</p><p>The precise timing of Japanese prime minister <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/07/japan-pm-shigeru-ishiba-resign">Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation announcement</a> – on a Sunday evening – took many by surprise; but the countdown to his departure arguably began just weeks after he took office.</p><p>Having won the presidency of the Liberal Democratic party (LDP) – a formidable political force that has governed <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/japan">Japan</a> for much of the past seven decades – Ishiba called a snap election in search of a public mandate after a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/28/anger-at-party-funding-scandal-in-japan-threatens-to-bring-down-pm-kishida">major funding scandal</a>, and to silence his opponents on the right of the party.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/08/japan-shigeru-ishiba-resignation-next-pm-will-face-problem-that-wont-go-away">Continue reading...</a>