On September 7, 2025, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru announced his resignation. Newspapers reported that he was taking responsibility for his party’s heavy defeat in the House of Councillors election. Support inside the party for what amounted to a recall of the party president had been growing.
An article on Nippon.com described a kind of unwritten rule in the Liberal Democratic Party. A party president who loses an election takes responsibility and steps down.