(Bloomberg) — Shigeru Ishiba was confirmed as Japan’s new prime minister on Tuesday, lifting the pressure of running the country off the shoulders of a political expert who has spent much of his career criticizing the sidelines.
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The powerful parliament approved Ishiba as prime minister in an afternoon vote. The upper house plans to do the same, due to the dominance of the ruling party.
When he announced plans on Monday for a national election on October 27, Ishiba has already given an indication that he is willing to take decisive action to try to turn public support into a mandate to govern. It could also help him stamp his authority on the Liberal Democratic Party and the party’s right-wing lawmakers who often oppose him.
Chaos in the LDP after a series of scandals and the ousting of top power brokers could end up presenting Ishiba with an internal challenge, and voter frustration over continued inflation and the LDP’s past corruption could still lead to problems at the ballot box.
Meanwhile, Ishiba is riding high on a landslide victory in the LDP leadership election. He has installed heavyweights in senior roles in the party to try to ensure he has a strong hold, and has given his upcoming LDP election rival Shinjiro Koizumi the job of managing the party’s general election campaigns.
A public opinion poll conducted by the Mainichi newspaper over the weekend showed that 52% of those interviewed were optimistic about the incoming Ishiba administration, while 30% expressed pessimism.
Ishiba will announce his cabinet list later on Tuesday. Among the candidates, Ishiba gave Katsunobu Kato, another LDP leadership contender, the key role of finance minister. Only two women have been appointed to the cabinet, a fresh reminder of the low levels of female representation in Japanese politics and professional life.
Ishiba has indicated that he will continue many of the economic policies of the outgoing Kishida administration, and the retention of Yoshimasa Hayashi as a top government spokesman is a sign of continuity, said Rintaro Nishimura, the Japan partner at Asia Group, a consulting firm.
Ishiba’s challenge will be to manage the right-wing members of the LDP after the conservatives were kicked out of the cabinet and top party leadership positions, Nishimura said. If he continues to provoke them, “I fear that conservatives will do everything they can to block or undermine Ishiba’s policies,” Nishimura said.
Among Ishiba’s rivals is Sanae Takaichi, who was surprisingly defeated by Ishiba in the LDP leadership election despite leading him in the first round of voting. Takayuki Kobayashi, another major LDP candidate, also missed out on a cabinet post.
Ishiba is expected to hold his own press conference sometime on Tuesday evening after visiting Emperor Naruhito for a ceremony where he will be officially confirmed as prime minister.
–With help from Yuko Takeo.
(Updates to show the vote in parliament.)
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