Shigeru Ishiba Calls for Snap Election Just Days After Becoming Japan’s New Leader
TOKYO — In a swift move, incoming Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has wasted no time in shaking things up by announcing plans for a snap election on 27 October, just three days after being elected as the new leader of Japan’s ruling party.
Replacing outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as chief of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Friday, Ishiba, 67, emerged victorious in a tight race, securing more votes than any of the other eight candidates.
With the LDP holding a parliamentary majority, Ishiba is set to be approved as prime minister by parliament on Tuesday, setting the stage for an early election.
“It is important for the new administration to be judged by the people as soon as possible,” Ishiba declared at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, as reported by Reuters.
The upcoming election, scheduled well ahead of its due date, will determine which party controls parliament’s lower house.
Earlier in the day, Ishiba began assembling his team for the general election, tapping two influential former prime ministers, Taro Aso and Yoshihide Suga, as adviser and vice-president, respectively.
He also enlisted the help of Shinjiro Koizumi, a popular rival in the leadership race, to serve as election strategy chief, but left out Sanae Takaichi, the hardline female conservative he narrowly defeated in the runoff to Friday’s poll.
After securing victory in the leadership election, Ishiba pledged to rejuvenate Japan’s economy, tackle security threats, and clean up the LDP, which has faced a decline in approval ratings amid public scandals and internal conflicts.
Chief among these scandals are concerns about the Unification Church’s influence within the LDP and suspicions of under-reported political funding by party factions over several years.
The backlash from these controversies damaged Kishida’s political standing, prompting his decision in August not to seek re-election as LDP leader.
“In the upcoming presidential election [for the LDP], it’s necessary to show the people that the party will change,” Kishida emphasized at a press conference last month, stressing the importance of transparent and open elections.
Following in his predecessor’s footsteps, Ishida stressed the need for a party that values free and open discussion, fairness, impartiality, and humility.
Despite the challenges, the LDP remains Japan’s most popular political party, having dominated the country’s political landscape for decades.
The recent leadership campaign was not just an internal party affair but also served as a public audition, with candidates vying to win over both party members and the electorate in anticipation of the upcoming general election. — BBC
