TOKYO —Japan's former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who won the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) presidential election on Friday, is all set to become the country's next Prime Minister with the official parliamentary appointment scheduled for Tuesday.
Ishiba, 67, won the presidential runoff with 215 votes against Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who garnered 194 votes. He will replace PM Fumio Kishida who had decided to step down following a slush funds scandal that rocked the ruling party.
This was Ishiba's fifth bid for the LDP leadership. Over the years, he had cemented his reputation as a seasoned policy expert with deep knowledge in defence, agriculture, and regional revitalization.
Following his victory in the highly-competitive race that saw a record nine contenders, Ishiba called for unity within the party while addressing the supporters at the LDP headquarters.
"I will dedicate myself to making Japan a safer country," he declared.
The attention now shifts to dissolving the House of Representatives and calling the general election, potentially before the end of the year.
Ishiba, however, faces immediate challenges, including restoring public trust in the LDP, which has been damaged by a slush fund scandal, and steering Japan’s economy through rising inflation and global uncertainties.
His leadership will also be tested on the international stage, with increasing security concerns stemming from China, North Korea, and Russia.
The runoff election was triggered when no candidate secured a majority of the 735 votes in the initial round. Shinjiro Koizumi, the 43-year-old son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, fell short in his first attempt at leadership.
Minister Takaichi, a firm supporter of late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's vision of a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' (FOIP), was striving to become the country's first female PM. The 63-year-old had lost in the very first round during the LDP's 2021 election when Kishida was elected.
43-year-old Shinjiro Koizumi, the youngest candidate, former Economic Security Minister Takayuki Kobayashi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, former Health Minister Katsunobu Kato, Digital Minister Taro Kono, and LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi, were the other contenders in the LDP presidential election.
The LDP's election came just days after the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, elected former PM Yoshihiko Noda as its new leader.