Japan PM Ishiba weighs whether to step down over US trade talks

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is planning to soon decide whether to step down after assessing progress in tariff negotiations with the United States, Yomiuri newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Ishiba is facing growing opposition from within his Liberal Democratic Party for his vow to stay in power despite the ruling coalition’s bruising defeat in Sunday’s upper house election.

The outcome of Japan’s ongoing trade talks with the U.S. will become clear this month, as negotiators rush to clinch a deal by the August 1 deadline, which could become a turning point for the administration, the paper said.

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US President Donald Trump said Wednesday Asian hours that he had just completed a “massive” deal with Japan that included $550 billion in investments into the United States.

According to Yomiuri, Ishiba told his close associates on Tuesday evening that he would explain how he would take responsibility for the election loss once a solution was reached on trade negotiations.

The prime minister was planning to hold a press conference to announce his decision once the tariff negotiations’ outcome became clear, the newspaper reported without citing its sources.

The prime minister’s official residence was not immediately available to comment on Yomiuri’s report.