Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba intends to resign, NHK television reported.
Later, Kyodo news agency also confirmed Ishiba's intention. He is expected to hold a press conference at 6:00 p.m. local time (12:00 p.m. Bulgarian time). He has made the decision, reportedly, to avoid a split in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which he leads.
On Monday, the results of a survey among all current LDP deputies and representatives of regional party organizations on the issue of holding an early election for the party chairman were to be summarized. After the defeat in the parliamentary elections in July, many in the party called for Ishiba's resignation.
It was the second major defeat in a row for Ishiba - in October last year the ruling coalition lost its majority in the key lower house of parliament. The LDP also suffered a setback in the Tokyo assembly elections. A number of influential figures in the LDP and its youth wing called for Ishiba's resignation.
However, Ishiba himself has long consistently stated his intention to remain in office to avoid creating a power vacuum and political chaos. He later took responsibility for the election defeat, vowed not to shirk responsibility and said that he "does not cling to office" of Prime Minister and Party Chairman.
The domestic political situation deteriorated on September 2, after the LDP officially announced the election results and established the reasons for the failure, and almost the entire party leadership announced their intention to resign: LDP Secretary General and Deputy Hiroshi Moriyama, the party's Executive Board Chairman Shunichi Suzuki, and the LDP Political Board Chairman Itsunori Onodera. They left the decision to resign to Ishiba, who has the authority to make the relevant personnel decisions.
After the report was published, the LDP launched an internal poll among lawmakers and representatives of all 47 regional party organizations on whether to hold an early election for the LDP chairman. According to party rules, this step must be supported by half of the participants in such a poll.