Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation came after a high-stakes political gamble—the threat of a snap general election—failed to intimidate his internal party rivals. Instead of silencing dissent, the move backfired, cementing their resolve to oust him and leaving him with no cards left to play.
As opposition to his leadership mounted within the LDP, Ishiba was reportedly considering a “put up or shut up” strategy: dissolving parliament and forcing his critics to back him in a general election or risk losing their seats. This is a powerful, but risky, tool in the hands of a prime minister.
However, the gamble failed because his own party called his bluff. His opponents, convinced that the LDP would suffer even greater losses under his leadership, were not deterred. The threat only intensified their anger and accelerated their plans to depose him.
Cornered and with his ultimate threat rendered useless, Ishiba had no choice but to concede. His resignation is a lesson in the limits of a prime minister’s power when they have lost the confidence of their own party.