Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's sudden announcement on Aug. 14 that he will not run in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election was met with surprise by allies, some of whom are already jockeying to replace him. 

Toshimitsu Motegi, the LDP secretary-general who hasn’t hid his eagerness to run against Kishida, released a statement.

“The decision to step down as prime minister is a very serious one, and I would like to take his own decision very seriously,” he said.

Motegi added, “It is true that the administration has been put in a difficult situation, but it is extremely unfortunate.”

Motegi has served as LDP secretary-general since the Kishida administration’s inception.

He praised the Kishida administration for its “major policy decisions and implementations” such as the strengthening of the nation's defense capabilities and measures to combat the declining birthrate.

Shigeru Ishiba, the former LDP secretary-general, expressed his intention to run for party president if he can secure the minimum of 20 supporters required to enter the race.  

"If there are 20 people who are willing to support me for the presidential election, I would definitely like to run," Ishiba told reporters in Taipei where he was visiting.

Natsuo Yamaguch, leader of junior coalition partner Komeito, told the media that Kishida had notified him of his decision by telephone in the morning.

"I accept the prime minister's strong will and heavy decision," Yamaguchi said.

He told reporters that Kishida told him that this is the best decision for the coalition to move forward.  

In Kishida's home district, Takashi Nakamoto, chairman of the Hiroshima prefectural assembly and acting chairman of the LDP Hiroshima prefectural chapter, said, “I am very surprised and truly disappointed.”

“We wanted him to run for president and continue to do his best, and we were determined to fully support him,” he said in a news conference. 

Nakamoto looked back on the three years of the Kishida administration and said, “He had a good start, but various problems under the (Shinzo) Abe and (Yoshihide) Suga administrations surfaced and he was forced to deal with them. Regarding the slush fund issue, there was too little cooperation from fellow LDP lawmakers,” he said.

Kenta Izumi, leader of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, told the media, “I was surprised when I heard the news.”

He added, “I think the issue of the former Unification Church and the issue of ‘politics and money’ have been on his mind for a long time. I think he felt that that he could not advance reform any further on his own.”

In the next Lower House election, the CDP will face Kishida’s successor heading the LDP.

Changing the face of the party “is a method that the LDP has been repeating in order to maintain its grip on power,” Izumi said. “By replacing the prime minister and party president, they try to make people forget the past. The people must not fall for this forever.”

The CDP’s presidential election is scheduled on Sept. 23 and Izumi intends to seek re-election.

“No matter who the prime minister is, I will point to the fact that the structure of the LDP has not changed at all, and I will show that the CDP is fully capable of taking charge of the government,” Izumi said. 

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, told The Asahi Shimbun, that he commends Kishida “for stepping down as the head of the organization and bringing closure to the issue of ‘politics and money.’”

He also praised the Kishida administration for “achieving a certain level of success in raising wages,” which had been a top priority for the DPP.

He expressed his belief that once a new LDP president is elected, the general election will be held sooner.

“Trust in politics has been severely lost due to the LDP’s slush fund issue. This is not a crisis for the LDP, but for Japan. It is necessary to renew politics for the revival of Japan, not merely to maintain the LDP in power,” Tamaki said.

Akira Koike, chief of the Japanese Communist Party secretariat, criticized Kishida to reporters.

“Kishida said that ‘someone has to take responsibility’ for the slush fund issue, but it is a problem for which the entire LDP has to take responsibility.”

He said, “Nothing will change simply by passing the administration around among LDP members. The LDP politics itself must be brought to an end.”

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, told reporters, “If (Kishida) was going to take responsibility for the slush fund issue, he should have done so a long time ago. I am not convinced. He should clarify the facts and drain the pus before quitting.”