Japan PM’s Power Broker Intends to Quit Over Election Setback

Shigeru Ishiba at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on July 28.Photographer: Toru Hanai/Bloomberg

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By Sakura Murakami, Takashi Umekawa, and Yoshiaki Nohara

September 1, 2025 at 8:41 PM EDT

Updated on

September 2, 2025 at 5:40 AM EDT

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s key power broker within the ruling party said he’ll quit if Ishiba approves, weakening Ishiba’s standing within his party and possibly starting a string of resignations at risk of reaching the prime minister himself.

“I am accountable for the election results as the party’s secretary-general and I must take responsibility,” said Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama on Tuesday, after a meeting to discuss an election setback that saw the ruling coalition lose control of the upper house in July.