Japan's Kishida will step down as Prime Minister in September

With the ruling party embroiled in corruption scandals, the rising cost of living, and so on, public support for Kishida has sunk to rock bottom.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has announced that he will step down from the post of Prime Minister in September. He also said he would not seek re-election as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Kishida said these things in a press conference broadcast live on television on Wednesday. "I will do everything possible as Prime Minister till my term ends in September," he said.

The announced resignation will end Kishida's three-year tenure as prime minister.

His announcement to step down has sparked a race to become the new party leader in the LDP party and to succeed him as leader of the world's fourth-largest economy, Reuters reported. Kishida, 67, will step down after a new LDP leader is elected in September.

Public support for Kishida has sunk to rock bottom due to the LDP party's involvement in corruption scandals, the rising cost of living and the falling value of the yen.

Last month, his support fell to just 15.5 percent. This is the lowest approval rating for any Japanese prime minister in more than a decade.

Japan's next national election in 2025. Many in his party were skeptical about whether the LDP would win under Kishida's leadership in that election. The LDP has been in power in Japan almost continuously since 1955.

Kishida is Japan's eighth longest-serving prime minister since World War II.