Tokyo: Shigeru Ishiba, Japan’s former defence minister is all set to become the next Prime Minister after the party picked him as the leader, AP reported.
Succeeding Fumio Kishida, Ishiba will become prime minister next week. Winning the party’s leadership is a ticket to the top job because the Liberal Democratic Party’s ruling coalition currently controls the parliament.
A record nine candidates, including two women, ran in the vote race decided by the party’s lawmakers and grassroots members.
Who is Shigeru Ishiba?
Ishiba is a 67-year-old former banker, who stood in the race for the fifth time and asserted that would be his “final battle.” Despite his longstanding popularity among voters, the idealist struggled to win enough support from fellow party lawmakers.
In the past, he was first elected to parliament in 1986, he has served as defence minister, agriculture minister and other key Cabinet and party posts. His experience, stability and expertise are increasingly considered a strength for the party as it prepares to face the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan’s new leader, former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, a veteran known for gripping speeches.
If elected, Ishiba pledges to push for more diversity and gender equality. He showed support for a revision to a 19th-century civil code requiring married couples to choose one of their surnames, which has caused most women to adopt their husbands’ surnames. Moves to change the code have stalled for decades due to the LDP’s sole opposition. He also supports legalising same-sex marriage.
Considered a defence policy expert, Ishiba has proposed an Asian version of the NATO military alliance and a more equal Japan-US security alliance. Ishiba is a supporter of Taiwan’s democracy. He calls for the establishment of a disaster management agency in one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.
