Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Chigro

Japanese Prime Minister Shigro Ishiba announced on Sunday that he would step down after weeks of pressure on his resignation.

“I made a difficult decision to step down.” He added that it was his “strong desire” to the members of his liberal democratic party (LDP) to overcome the “difficult gap” within the party.

He pointed out that he was thinking about his position as prime minister since last year’s elections, but the matter was the issue of finding the right time. The Prime Minister added that he was able to announce his resignation when he saw that certain results were delivered through an American tariff agreement.

Japan has struggled to reach a commercial agreement with the United States and protect the huge car sector from high duties. US President Donald Trump The executive order signed On Thursday in the United States to implement a trade deal with Japan, with 15 % of the basic tariffs on most Japanese goods, including cars.

The deal was agreed after months of negotiations, as Washington and Tokyo continued to bargain for weeks before signing it.

Ishiba has faced calls for his resignation in recent weeks after the ruling National Democratic Party failed to secure the majority in the House of Representatives on October 27.