BBC:
Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has announced his resignation after less than a year in the role – following two crushing election losses in mid-term elections.
His resignation came a day before opponents in his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) were expected to vote him out.
His departure sets the stage for yet another ruling party leadership contest in Tokyo, the third in five years. That is apart from two national elections – neither of the winners completed their term.
But the country’s future leader now faces a daunting task – balancing fraught US-Japan relations, rising inflation and a cost of living crisis, and a government that has lost its majority in both houses of parliament.
