TOKYO: The leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Shigeru Ishiba, has been elected prime minister, garnering over half of th...
TOKYO: The leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Shigeru Ishiba, has been elected prime minister, garnering over half of the votes cast by members of the lower house of parliament, which has priority in choosing the head of government.
Ishiba received the support of 221 lawmakers, while Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, secured the votes of 160 members of parliament. A total of 381 votes were cast.
Within the day, Ishiba will form his second government since his administration first began on October 1. Its composition is expected to be largely unchanged, with the exception of the ministers who failed to be re-elected to parliament in the October 27 election. Thus, Keisuke Suzuki will take over as Minister of Justice, while Taku Eto will head the Ministry of Agriculture. Hiromasa Nakano is expected to assume the post of Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, traditionally held by a junior coalition partner of the Komeito Party. The composition of the new government is set to be approved by Emperor Naruhito in the afternoon.
Japan's second government led by Ishiba is a minority government. The early election results for the lower house of parliament saw the coalition of the LDP and Komeito Party lose their majority. None of the minor parties expressed an intention of entering the coalition during consultations ahead of the special session of parliament. Consequently, the LDP will be unable to pursue all its policies in parliament freely, which may lead to prolonged negotiations with the small opposition parties.
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