LDP Ishiba elected Japan's new PM amid economic, security fears
LDP Ishiba elected Japan's new PM amid economic, security fears
TOKYO, Oct. 1 Kyodo - Shigeru Ishiba, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was elected Japan's new prime minister by parliament on Tuesday to replace Fumio Kishida, at a time of low public confidence in politics, a shaky economy and mounting security threats.
His endorsement by both houses of parliament sets the stage for a general election on Oct. 27, despite growing criticism from the opposition bloc about the timing of the poll, which delayed Tuesday's parliamentary vote to approve him at the last minute.
The new Cabinet formed Tuesday by the 67-year-old Ishiba, long seen as a maverick and security expert, reflects his emphasis on bolstering Japan's defenses and ensuring a stable government. He faces a challenging start to his premiership as he needs to revamp a party hit by a political funds scandal and win back voter trust.
Still, Ishiba's perceived about-face in calling a snap election, announced even before he was officially elected, has already backfired, prompting opposition parties to call it "disrespectful" to the Diet and "unconstitutional."
"I will promote political reforms immediately, so we can be trusted by the people," Ishiba said at his inaugural press conference as prime minister.
He defended the forthcoming election as necessary to seek a public mandate for his government soon after its launch.
On the opening day of an extraordinary Diet session, Ishiba secured 291 of the 461 votes cast in the House of Representatives and 143 of the 242 cast in the House of Councillors.
He is expected to deliver his policy speech on Friday and dissolve the lower house on Oct. 9, eight days after taking office.
The newly-formed Cabinet consists of confidantes such as Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, who share similar views with Ishiba on national security and defense. It also contains two of those that ran against Ishiba in the LDP's presidential race and two female members. Of the 19 ministers, 13 have been given Cabinet posts for the first time.
Newly-tapped economic revitalization minister Ryosei Akazawa is another of Ishiba's confidantes and Digital Minister Masaaki Taira is also close to the premier.
Ishiba is pushing for the creation of an Asian-style NATO collective security arrangement amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan. He has also voiced eagerness to review Japan's agreement with its security ally the United States on the status of U.S. troops in Japan and make the bilateral alliance more equal.
While uncertainty remains over his handling of the economy, Ishiba has indicated he will not deviate from the policy implemented by Kishida, who focused on boosting wages. The new prime minister has emphasized it is vital for Japan to promote robust wage growth as private consumption lacks vigor, saying the Bank of Japan should maintain accommodative monetary conditions.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, the top government spokesman who served as the right-hand man of Kishida and one of the nine contenders in the LDP race, retained the post of chief Cabinet secretary.
Another candidate, former health minister Katsunobu Kato, will serve as finance minister. The former finance ministry bureaucrat pledged to double people's incomes during the LDP election, stressing that securing economic growth should precede fiscal rehabilitation.
The selection process raised the specter of a potential intraparty revolt after two rival candidates who competed with Ishiba in the Sept. 27 LDP race refused his offer to serve as Cabinet members or party executives.
Ishiba did not appoint anyone tasked with promoting economic cooperation with Russia, eliminating a Cabinet post created in 2016 under the late former premier Shinzo Abe, as bilateral ties with Russia have cooled since its aggression against Ukraine.
Abe had sought to resolve a bilateral territorial issue and accelerate peace treaty negotiations more than two years before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Official campaigning for the general election will kick off on Oct. 15, with eyes on whether the LDP can retain a majority in the 465-member chamber as the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan seeks to siphon off LDP support among moderate conservatives.
The current terms of lower house members end in October 2025. The previous election was held in October 2021, shortly after Kishida became prime minister.
Kishida, whose Cabinet resigned en masse shortly before Ishiba was voted in, struggled to shore up falling public support due to revelations about the LDP's ties to the controversial Unification Church and party factions amassing slush funds.
During Kishida's tenure, Japan decided to increase defense spending by 43 trillion yen ($300 billion) over five years and raise taxes without specifying the exact timing to cover part of the costs. It also lifted its restrictions on acquiring enemy base attack capabilities.
Japan's ties with its Asian neighbors, especially South Korea, improved, despite difficulties stemming from wartime history and territorial claims. North Korea, however, continued to launch ballistic missiles, while China and Russia increased tensions with provocative maneuvering at sea and in the air.
On the economic front, Japan lost its status as the world's third-largest economy to Germany last year. The yen's steep fall dealt a blow to the resource-poor nation and remained a headache for Kishida, who had to take a spate of measures to alleviate the pain of rising prices felt by households despite its state coffers being in dire straits.
==Kyodo
