Former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to become Japan’s prime minister next week after securing victory in the ruling conservative party’s leadership election on Friday. The 67-year-old train enthusiast won the run-off with 215 votes, defeating arch-nationalist Sanae Takaichi, who had the chance to become Japan’s first female leader but garnered 194 votes. He faces the daunting challenge of turning around an economy in the doldrums and tackling regional security threats from China, North Korea, and other powers. The party’s new leader must also push away from decades of aggressive monetary stimulus, which has sharply lowered the yen and raised the risk of inflation.
Ishiba, who builds plastic models of warplanes and ships in his spare time, has promised to create more jobs outside Tokyo and boost the economy by reducing Japan’s massive trade deficit with other countries. He has a track record as an independent thinker, and polls show he has broad voter support.
But he has riled party leaders at times by going against the grain, including with his support for measures to close the gap between men and women and legalize same-sex marriage. He also made headlines for becoming the first cabinet member to take paternity leave—just two weeks compared with the months many new fathers take in Japan’s work culture.
In a nail-biter election, Ishiba won the most votes in the first round of voting by lawmakers and rank-and-file members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). He then clinched victory with a second round of voting involving 368 LDP leaders in the national legislature and 415 ballots from local party chapters in each prefecture.
Ishiba, who will be formally approved in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday, says his election is the start of a new era for the party. He has promised to improve governance and build trusted relationships with the public. He also has vowed to step up Japan’s role in the world, including through strengthening its military ties with the United States and pushing for an Asian version of NATO.
He will replace outgoing prime minister Fumio Kishida, who resigned this year amid an LDP corruption scandal.
The new LDP leader must tackle growing anger over the government’s handling of corruption scandals and navigate regional security tensions fueled by an increasingly assertive China, the rise of nuclear-armed North Korea, and other power centers. He must also address a sagging economy, where rising living costs provoke outrage and threaten the LDP’s grip on politics. Analysts say he has the potential to revive the economy with his experience as Japan’s top defense official and his close ties with other leaders such as US President Donald Trump. But they caution that he will need to overcome the public’s deep skepticism about his government’s policies. They also warn that a revolving door of short-lived governments can hinder Japan’s ability to set long-term policy goals and form strong ties with international leaders.
