key takeaways
- Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru denied reports that he will announce his resignation in August, but the party has made increasingly clear that it is ready for a change of leadership.
- There are some questions about the timing, but he will likely be replaced by a new Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader no later than the first half of September.
- While it is too early for candidates to announce their bids, LDP members are already weighing their options and thinking about how to conduct the election.