Public broadcaster NHK said Ishiba made the decision to avoid a divide within the party, while the Asahi Shimbun daily said he was unable to withstand the mounting calls for his resignation.
Ishiba, who took office in October 2024, has been fending off moves to hold an LDP leadership contest by brandishing the option of dissolving the House of Representatives for a snap election, sources close to him said.
Japan’s government said on Sunday that Ishiba would hold a press conference at 6pm (local time).
On Monday, the LDP plans to collect signatures from its lawmakers to determine whether to hold a presidential election ahead of the scheduled contest in 2027, amid mounting calls for Ishiba to take responsibility for the loss of the ruling coalition’s majority in the upper house election in July.
Tamura, a former health minister, said on a TV programme, “It would be better to settle the matter before it comes to a vote.” He added on another programme that a dissolution of the lower house by Ishiba would be “illogical and amount to an act of treason”.
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