Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung agreed on 23 August to deepen “future-oriented” cooperation and keep Japan–South Korea relations on a stable footing. The leaders confirmed that Tokyo and Seoul will work with Washington in countering North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes and endorsed closer collaboration in fields such as hydrogen, artificial intelligence and critical minerals. They also committed to expanding the bilateral working-holiday scheme so that young people from each country can obtain visas twice, broadening post-pandemic travel and labour flows. Returning to domestic politics, Ishiba on 24 August dined with former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and other senior Liberal Democratic Party figures to solicit advice on governance amid signs of party unease. Participants said early discussion centred on whether to bring forward the LDP’s presidential election, a move that could determine Ishiba’s tenure only a year after he took office. The following day Ishiba visited former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Diet to thank him for acting as chair at the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development. Separately, he conferred the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun on Singapore’s Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, marking preparations for the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2026. Pressure for an accelerated leadership contest is mounting. A Sankei Shimbun/FNN poll released 25 August put former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi atop the list of preferred successors at 23%, with agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi in second place. Several LDP lawmakers, including Hiroshi Yamada and Kimi Onoda, have publicly endorsed a full-scale snap contest. The party’s election committee is expected to announce by 27 August how it will gauge lawmakers’ support, potentially setting the stage for an early vote on Ishiba’s future.