Shigeru Ishiba, a veteran politician and former defence minister of Japan, is set to become the next prime minister of the country, after winning the election to lead the ruling party.
The 67-year-old ousted nine other leaders, including the incumbent Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi to clinch the leadership of the scandal-hit Liberal Democratic Party.
In the intra-party election, lawmakers of the LDP and the party's dues-paying members were allowed to cast their vote. They account for only 1% of the country's electorate who will be voting in the general elections next year.
Ishiba will be succeeding Fumio Kishida, Japan's incumbent prime minister who announced in August that he would be stepping down. His exit comes at a time when the ruling LDP has faced corruption allegations, and two of the key factions within the party are being accused of rerouting political funds in the form of kickbacks to some lawmakers.
Amid the graft charges, Kishida tried to improve the party's image by replacing several cabinet ministers over the past year. His decision to step down is also seen as a measure to improve the LDP's prospects in the general elections slated for 2025.
Kishida, along with the incumbent cabinet, will resign on Oct. 1. On the next day, Ishiba will take charge of the government along with his new cabinet.
Apart from political challenges, Ishiba confronts mounting economic troubles, as Japan has been reeling under increased cost of living. The crisis has been amplified by the falling yen.
Ishiba will also have to navigate through the changing geopolitical landscape, as the US will be electing a new president in the November elections. Japan's relation with the new American leader, in the backdrop of an assertive China and an aggressive North Korea, will remain under watch.
Ishiba, who largely echoes his predecessors' views on Japan's security, drew attention last month as he raised concern over the China-Taiwan tensions. “There is a debate in Japan that what is happening in Ukraine today might be a problem that Northeast Asia faces tomorrow," Kyodo News quoted him as saying during his visit to Taipei last month.
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