July 28 & 29, 2025

A momentum to oust Ishiba Shigeru from his post as Liberal Democratic Party president is growing within the LDP, in response to the ruling parties’ losing their majority in the House of Councillors following in the House of Representatives, obviously with an aim to maintain the LDP’s grip on power by replacing the party’s front person.

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira on July 28 at a press conference said, “The issue is not who should be the next LDP president, but that LDP-led politics must end.”

While it is only natural that Prime Minister Ishiba should step down, Koike pointed out that many voters in the July 20 election said, “No,” to LDP politics overall, such as its practice maintaining slush funds, its incompetence in counteracting surging prices, and its diplomatic stance which is subservient to the United States.

In fact, the opinion poll Kyodo News conducted after the election (July 21, 22) shows that the approval rating for the Ishiba Cabinet declined to 22.9%, down almost ten points. Asked the question, “what kind of government is desirable?” 53.6% of respondents answered, “an opposition-led government” or “a new government formed through political realignment”. On the other hand, only 13.1% favored “the current LDP-Komei government”, while 28.0% supported “a government formed by the LDP-Komei coalition and some opposition parties”.

Koike said, “The question that is being raised to the opposition parties is whether to end LDP politics, help LDP politics, or push Japanese politics in a xenophobic direction.”