Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has informed his close associates of his decision to announce his intention to resign within the same month after the Liberal Democratic Party reviews the summary report of the House of Councillors election in August, according to the Mainichi Shimbun. Earlier, the ruling coalition led by Ishiba had suffered a landslide defeat in the House of Councillors election. There were rumors that Ishiba planned to decide on his resignation soon after assessing the progress of tariff negotiations with the US.This morning (23rd), US President Donald Trump announced that a trade agreement had been reached with Japan. The US will levy a 15% tariff on imports from Japan, while Japan will invest US$550 billion in the US.