Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida is stepping down over a corruption scandal that has plagued the nation's ruling party.
Elected in 2021 to a three-year term, Kishida resigned ahead of new leadership elections for the Liberal Democratic Party.
The Liberal Democratic Party has dominated Japan for most of its post-war history.
The party lost popularity over ties with the controversial Unification Church that came to light after the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, an LDP member.
The party was later rocked by a scandal over unreported funds from ticket sales at party events. Multiple LDP members were indicted, although prosecutors backed off of charging Kishida, citing a lack of evidence.
In his resignation announcement, Kishida said that stepping aside would help rebuild public trust.
“We need to clearly show an LDP reborn,” Kishida told reporters Wednesday. “In order to show a changing LDP, the most obvious first step is for me to bow out.”
“I will not run for the upcoming party leadership election,” he said.
“Once a new leader is decided, I hope to see everyone unite and form a dream team to achieve politics that can gain public understanding,” he said.
Kenta Izumi, the leader of Japan's primary opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, dismissed Kishida's resignation as a face-saving maneuver.
“Whenever the party is in crisis, LDP, for its own survival, has repeatedly changed prime minister and party leader to reset and have voters forget the past,” Izumi said. “It’s their strategy and people should not be tricked by it.”
President Biden, who months ago called Japan "xenophobic," praised Kishida for strengthening the U.S.-Japan relationship.
“Guided by unflinching courage and moral clarity, Prime Minister Kishida has transformed Japan’s role in the world,” Biden said in a statement, adding his "courageous leadership will be remembered on both sides of the Pacific for decades to come.”
U.S. Ambassador to Japan and former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel also praised Kishida's diplomacy in the Pacific region.
"Prime Minister Kishida helped build a latticework of security alliances and partnerships across the Indo-Pacific region that will stand the test of time," Emanuel said.
The LDP's new leadership elections are in September. Because the party controls both houses of parliament, the winner of the leadership election will become the new prime minister.
