The former head of the Ministry of Defense Shigeru Ishiba officially became the new prime minister of Japan

The Japanese government, along with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, resigned on October 1. The former head of the Ministry of Defense and head of the Liberal Democratic Party Shigeru Ishiba became the countryʼs new prime minister.

NHK and Kyodo News write about it.

Ishiba became the 102nd elected Prime Minister of Japan, his candidacy was supported by both houses of representatives.

Kyodo predicts that Ishiba, 67, long regarded as an innovator, is likely to face a rocky start to his premiership as he seeks to restore voter confidence in the scandal-plagued ruling party and overcome intra-party divisions that have deepened since the LDP leadership election.

Ishiba has already said he will continue his predecessor Kishidaʼs economic policies, which focus on raising wages to stimulate and revive private consumption as a key component of the countryʼs economic growth.

On the security front, Ishiba wants to push for a NATO-style Asian collective security agreement amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan. He also expressed his willingness to revise the Japan-US mutual defense treaty to make the bilateral alliance more equal.

Ishiba is expected to deliver his key political speech on Friday, October 4, in which he will, among other things, announce the appointment of early parliamentary elections for October 27 to finally reset power in the country.

• In August 2024, the then Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, announced that he would not run for a second term in the election of the head of the LDP and would leave the post of Prime Minister after the elections in September. Before that, a corruption scandal broke out around the LDP, so these elections are important for restoring public trust in the party.
• Japan provided $9 billion in direct financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine during Kishidaʼs premiership from 2022. He emphasized the need to move away from the "historical limits of neutrality and foreign policy isolationism.”

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