Japan’s new prime minister vows to promote a strong defense within the Japan-US alliance and boost the economy

TOKYO – Japan’s newly elected prime minister pledged Tuesday night to stick with the vital Japan-U.S. alliance amid rising tensions in the region, while calling for a fairer alliance. It comes as the new prime minister tries to stimulate a sluggish economy and regain public confidence ahead of national elections later this month.

Last week, Shigeru Ishiba was elected head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, a ticket to the top job because his party’s coalition controls parliament. He replaced Fumio Kishida, who stepped down earlier Tuesday to pave the way for a new leader after scandals that plagued his government.

The new prime minister – always viewed as an outsider by his party – immediately formed his cabinet, placing a heavy emphasis on defense and hiring several security experts. Because there are only a few women ministers, most, including Ishiba, are not affiliated with factions led and controlled by top party leaders, and none of them are part of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s powerful group linked to harmful misconduct.

Speaking to reporters at the prime minister’s office for the first time after the palace ceremony, Ishiba called for greater military cooperation with like-minded partners. He loudly expressed his desire to create a NATO-style alliance in the region.

He said one of the main goals of his policy is to “protect Japan” because “the security environment around us is the toughest since the end of World War II,” adding that he would stick to the Japan-U.S. alliance as the “foundation” in strengthening his defense and diplomacy country.

Ishiba renewed his proposal for a more equal security alliance between Japan and the United States, including joint management of U.S. bases in Japan and ownership of Japan Self-Defense Force bases in the United States, which would require a revision of the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement, a move seen as a major challenge. He says the current bilateral alliance is “asymmetric.”

“This solution would further strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance,” Ishiba said. “I have supported this idea for over 20 years and of course it will not happen suddenly just because I became prime minister.” He also announced that he had not delegated this matter to his office as an urgent task. “But I won’t give up and I’ll keep working on it.”

A day before he officially took office, Ishiba said he would call for early elections on Oct. 27 and that former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi would head the party’s election task force. On Tuesday, he announced that he intended to dissolve the lower house on October 9 in preparation for the vote, adding that his new administration must hear the “people’s verdict” as soon as possible.

During Tuesday’s parliament session, opposition leaders widely criticized Ishiba for announcing such a plan before he became prime minister and allowing only a few days of analysis and discussion of his policies before national elections. They delayed the vote required to approve his new position by about half an hour, even though they had no opportunity to influence it, signaling a rocky start for Ishiba.

Ishiba named several ministers who voted for him in a party leadership poll, including two former defense ministers with whom he worked closely – Takeshi Iwaya as foreign minister and Gen. Nakatani as defense chief. He hired Kishida’s chief confidant, Yoshimasa Hayashi, as his chief cabinet secretary, who had also previously served as defense minister. He appointed Katsunobu Kato as Minister of Finance.

Only two of the 19 ministers are women: actress-turned-lawyer Junko Mihara as minister of child policy and Toshiko Abe as education minister. The government is under pressure to increase the number of women in public positions. Women currently make up just 10% of the lower house, putting Japan at the bottom of global gender equality rankings.

Some say his cabinet lacks a stable power base that could cause it to collapse, but according to the liberal Asahi newspaper, Ishiba hopes to build party unity as it prepares for upcoming elections. The newspaper reports that the move is also seen as revenge for Ishiba, who was largely sidelined for much of Abe’s reign.

Last week, Ishiba outlined his views on security and defense in an article for the Hudson Institute. He proposed merging existing security and diplomatic groupings such as the Quad and other bilateral and multilateral structures including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and the Philippines.

He wrote that a NATO-style alliance could also consider sharing control of U.S. nuclear weapons in the region as a deterrent against growing threats from China, North Korea and Russia.

Ishiba also pledged to continue Kishida’s economic policies aimed at pulling Japan out of deflation and achieving real wage growth, while tackling challenges such as declining birth rates and population and increasing the country’s resilience to natural disasters. On Tuesday, he announced plans to establish a ministry of crisis management.

Former Prime Minister Kishida announced in August that he would resign at the end of his three-year term to pave the way for a new leader amid corruption scandals that have engulfed his party and government. He left his office for the last time on Tuesday after a short farewell ceremony during which he was presented with a bouquet of red roses and applauded by his staff and former cabinet members.

The LDP has ruled Japan almost continuously since World War II. Party members may have seen Ishiba’s more centrist views as crucial in fending off challenges from the liberal opposition and winning voter support in the face of corruption scandals that had lowered Kishida’s popularity.

Ishiba, first elected to parliament in 1986, has served as defense minister, agriculture minister and other key government positions, and was secretary general of the LDP under Abe.