<figure id="attachment_437960" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-437960" style="width: 3000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="51c88624"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/09/68a39ccded3fa9c508432672a7cbd5ae.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-437960" class="wp-caption-text">At the beginning of the Upper House election, Prime Minister Ishiba referred to his own responsibility for the defeat in the Upper House election.</figcaption></figure>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I sincerely and deeply apologize. I am deeply, deeply sorry.</span></p>
<p> Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, 68, bowed his head deeply for a few seconds as he spoke at the September 2 meeting of both houses of the Diet to review his defeat in the Upper House election. I am not in love with my position at all,&#8221; he continued, &#8220;and I have no intention of holding on to it.&#8221; He even said in his own words, &#8220;I will make a proper decision when the time is right.</p>
<p> Just when everyone thought that the &#8220;quit&#8221; or &#8220;not quit&#8221; battle that had been going on for 40 days had finally been settled, he began to speak, &#8220;And still more,&#8221; and then, as he regained a firm grip on the microphone held in his right hand, he began to talk about the five policies he wanted to accomplish, including wage increases, tariff issues with the United States, agricultural policy, the establishment of a disaster prevention agency, and foreign affairs and national security. He listed five policies that he wanted to accomplish, including wage increases, tariff issues with the U.S., agricultural policy, the establishment of a disaster prevention agency, and diplomatic security. It is my duty to make the right decisions at the right time without shirking my responsibility,&#8221; he reiterated.</p>
<p> The general meeting of both houses of the Diet, held on the eighth floor of the party headquarters, was attended by 233 Diet members, 35 of whom spoke, and only &#8220;two or three&#8221; of whom called for Ishiba to continue to serve as prime minister. Most of the comments questioned Prime Minister Ishiba&#8217;s responsibility, with some asking when he should step down, such as &#8220;He should resign on this occasion,&#8221; and &#8220;What is the appropriate time? The general meeting was reportedly a deadlocked affair, as no words were uttered by Prime Minister Ishiba.</p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Losing his &#8220;right-hand man&#8221; and becoming isolated</span></h3>
<p> The tension in the hall was felt near the end of the meeting when Mr. Yutaka Moriyama, 80, the secretary general of the Diet, took the microphone. The secretary general, who has a strong relationship with the opposition parties and is trusted by Prime Minister Ishiba as &#8220;irreplaceable&#8221; and &#8220;always helpful,&#8221; announced that he was stepping down. Moriyama looked around at the members of the Diet and said, &#8220;I am stepping down from my post as secretary general.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I would like to step down from the position of secretary general. I leave the decision on whether or not to proceed with my resignation to President Ishiba, who has the authority to appoint me.</span></p>
<p> While Moriyama was announcing his resignation, Ishiba turned to Haruko Arimura, 54, the head of the upper house of the Diet, and said something to her. House of Councilors member Hiroo Ishii, 61, a former professional baseball player who served as vice minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, confided, &#8220;President Ishiba is a top leader.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> President Ishiba, as a top leader, has to set an example, but he does not set a clear line of demarcation. He only says that he will step down when the appropriate time comes, but it is still unclear whether it will be tomorrow, six months from now, or a year from now. Even the secretary-general has announced his resignation, but has left his resignation to the president, who has submitted a letter of resignation rather than a resignation. I think he is just stalling and buying time.</span></p>
<p> The top leadership&#8217;s half-hearted stance has intensified pressure on Prime Minister Ishiba to resign. Following the resignation of Secretary General Moriyama, the party&#8217;s four top party officials have announced their resignations, leaving the prime minister in a state of isolation.</p>
<figure id="attachment_437961" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-437961" style="width: 3000px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="91e11fdf"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/09/ffd3afbe608812a093acebad76759191.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-437961" class="wp-caption-text"> Prime Minister Ishiba and Secretary General Moriyama (right) exchange words at a general meeting. Regarding the submitted resignation letter, Prime Minister Ishiba declined to say, saying, &#8220;I will make an appropriate decision.</figcaption></figure>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" In the end, Shinjiro is the only one to ask."></div>
<figure id="attachment_437962" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-437962" style="width: 1925px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6071d258"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/09/bf598f40b41c53b9eaacf7571f55ad0c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-437962" class="wp-caption-text">Agriculture Minister Koizumi at the General Meeting. He is making his presence felt as &#8220;Minister of Rice.</figcaption></figure>
<p> For Prime Minister Ishiba, the first priority is to keep Secretary General Moriyama in place. Without Moriyama, who has been in charge of intra-party coordination and negotiations with the opposition parties, it is clear that the Ishiba administration will not be able to stand on its own. If Moriyama&#8217;s will is firm, is there anyone in the Ishiba administration capable of assuming the post of secretary-general?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> &#8220;There is a possibility that Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, 44, will be chosen as secretary general,&#8221; said one of the leading figures in the anti-Ishiba faction.</span></p>
<p> Shigeharu Aoyama, 73, a member of the House of Councilors and the spearhead of the anti-Ishiba faction, pointed this out.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide, 76, who is one of Ishiba&#8217;s few remaining guardians, has vowed that he will make Koizumi prime minister. Mr. Koizumi has experience as minister of agriculture and environment, but his ability to manage the party is questionable. Mr. Mogi (Toshimitsu, 69) is the only person who has experience as secretary-general in the &#8220;post-Ishiba&#8221; position. If Mr. Koizumi accepts the post, it would differentiate him from Mr. Takaichi (Sanae, 64) and Mr. Kobayashi (Takayuki, 50).</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Even if only for a short period of time, assuming the post of secretary-general would be a step toward becoming prime minister-president. It is not a bad thing for Mr. Koizumi. Also, for Prime Minister Ishiba, who is not good at politics, Mr. Koizumi&#8217;s high name recognition is attractive. He is hoping to select Mr. Koizumi as secretary-general, which would lead to an immediate dissolution of the party.</span></p>
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<h3><span class="strongInContent"> The fissures within the party are only deepening.</span></h3>
<p> There is a rumor circulating in Nagata-cho that the House of Representatives will be dissolved in order to resolve the situation. Suzuki Muneo, 77, a member of the House of Councilors, who defends Prime Minister Ishiba, said, &#8220;I am confident in my decision to dissolve the House. We should ask the Japanese people, rather than LDP members, for their confidence,&#8221; he told reporters after the meeting.</p>
<p> There was also foreshadowing of the dissolution: on August 24, Prime Minister Ishiba had dinner with former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (83) and others.&#8217; They apparently had a lively discussion about the dissolution of the postal service in 2005 and gave him advice on how to run the administration. Kentaro Asahi, 49, a member of the House of Councillors, who is neither a supporter nor an opponent of the Ishiba administration, commented on the current situation.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> He said, &#8220;We lost the Upper House election on July 20, and even after a reception for both houses of the Diet and two general meetings of both houses of the Diet, nothing has improved. Things have been slow and the gap between the advocates and the anti-Ishiba faction has only deepened.</span></p>
<p> However, a time limit is looming: on September 8, the lawmakers are scheduled to bring a prominent and sealed document to the party requesting that an &#8220;extraordinary presidential election&#8221; be held. If more than 172 members, the majority of the LDP&#8217;s Diet members and representatives of prefectural federations, request the party to hold an extraordinary presidential election, it will be the first such event in the 70-year history of the LDP.</p>
<p> Prime Minister Ishiba relies on his approval rating as the basis for his continuation in office. According to an August 29-31 poll by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the approval rating for Shigeru Ishiba&#8217;s cabinet is 42%, up 10% from the previous survey in July. This was the first time since February that the approval rating had recovered to the 40% level.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The prime minister has repeatedly said, &#8220;Public opinion within the party is different from public opinion,&#8221; and he has been inspiring himself. Depending on the results of the election on August 8, even if the extraordinary presidential election is held, if the result is close, he may be considering a run for president. (a close associate of Prime Minister Ishiba).</span></p>
<p> Prime Minister Ishiba is said to have told people around him.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I can&#8217;t read whether or not the majority of the voters will vote for the presidential election.</span></p>
<p> The Ishiba administration&#8217;s climax looms.</p>
<figure id="attachment_437963" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-437963" style="width: 2368px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5c873eea"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/09/f0f081bf9598d298e8f117dffe1ef7f3.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-437963" class="wp-caption-text"> Secretary General Moriyama leaves the general meeting. His face showed signs of fatigue.</figcaption></figure>
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 Takeshi Kinugawa

 The "X-Day" for the extraordinary presidential election is approaching on September 8. With Secretary General Moriyama submitting his resignation and the opposition from within the party growing stronger, Prime Minister Ishiba has a trump card to play in order to "stay in power. That is the appointment of Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi as his successor.

Prime Minister Ishiba is given an ultimatum by his party&#8230; His last hope is to &#8220;select Shinjiro Koizumi as secretary general&#8221; and immediately dissolve the general election.

Prime Minister Ishiba is given an ultimatum by his party… His last hope is to “select Shinjiro Koizumi as secretary general” and immediately dissolve the general election.

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