Japan’s incoming Prime Minister Ishiba announces elections for October 27 and seeks party unification

Takaichi’s exclusion could make it more difficult for Ishiba to manage a fractious ruling group racked by scandals that have weakened its public support (Image: Reuters)

3 minutes of reading Last update: September 30, 2024 | 12:23 IST

Future Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday that he would call a general election for October 27 after winning one of the closest leadership races ever for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The poll, which will be held a year earlier and before the November US presidential elections, will decide which party controls the lower house of parliament. Lawmakers there will meet tomorrow to confirm him as the country’s next prime minister.

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“It is important that the new administration is assessed by the public as soon as possible,” Ishiba said at a news conference at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo.

Japanese shares fell more than 4 percent in early trading on Monday as the yen strengthened and Japanese government bonds rose in response to Ishiba’s leadership victory, seen as a monetary hawk.

On Monday, Ishiba began selecting government and party officials who will contest alongside him in the upcoming general election.

So far, they include two rival candidates in the leadership race, Katsunobu Kato as finance minister and Yoshimasa Hayashi, who is expected to remain as chief cabinet secretary, a key position that includes the role of the government’s top spokesman, two sources familiar with the matter previously told Reuters nominations.

Ishiba’s close ally Takeshi Iwaya, a former defense chief, will take over as foreign minister, and Gen. Nakatani will return to the defense ministry he held in 2016, said the sources, who asked not to be named because they are not authorized to talk to him. media, which confirms previous media reports.

Another source said that Yoji Muto, a former junior minister, will take over at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

His candidates, however, did not include Sanae Takaichi, a hard-line conservative whom he defeated by 215 votes to 194 on Friday in the closest leadership election in nearly seven decades.

Takaichi’s absence could make it more difficult for Ishiba to manage a fractious ruling group racked by scandals that have eroded its public support.

Media reports that Takaichi declined to accept the position “may indicate a weakness in Ishiba’s support base, which could cause problems for him in the future,” said Hiroshi Shiratori, a political science professor at Hosei University in Tokyo.

Ishiba has chosen another rival, Shinjiro Koizumi, to head his election campaign, along with former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, a Koizumi supporter, who is the party’s new vice chairman. They both joined him at Monday’s news conference.

Ishiba, 67, won the LDP leadership race in his fifth attempt with strong support from the rank and file.

However, many of his parliamentary colleagues consider him a troublemaker because he often opposes the party’s policies.

On the Friday before the runoff against Takaichi, he apologized to LDP legislators for his “shortcomings.” Media reports. Sources say former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who supported Koizumi, will become vice chairman of his party.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard team; the rest of content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)

First publication: September 30, 2024 | 8:28 IST