Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Wednesday that he will not run in the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election scheduled for next month.

Kishida told a news conference it was important for the LDP to have a new face at the helm and that the “first step” would be his resignation, according to a Reuters translation. He said he felt the need to step down so the LDP could regain public trust.

The Prime Minister also pledged full support to the new leader.

Kishida’s decision not to run for re-election effectively means he will step down as prime minister when the party elects a new leader.

He said the decision was taken with the best interests of the people of the country in mind, and that a full exit from the country’s deflation-prone economy required boosting wage growth and investment.

The administration has been dogged by a political finance scandal involving misallocation of party factions and failure to report money from party fundraisers, Which led to the arrest of the ministers involved.Earlier in January, Kishida said, The largest faction in the ruling party was dissolved in the wake of the scandal..

Kishida also said he “does not hesitate” to take responsibility as LDP president “for issues caused by members,” and has been thinking about responsibility as leader since the funding scandal emerged.

Kyodo News Agency and NHK I mentioned the news earlier.

According to Latest NHK pollThe number of people who “support” Kishida’s government is 25%, while 55% do not support it.

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