Shigeru Ishiba will become the new Prime Minister of Japan. Ishiba, a former defense minister, was elected as the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a vote held on Friday at its headquarters in Tokyo.
67-year-old Ishiba got 215 votes while his competitor Shanai Takachi got 194 votes. If Takachi had won, she would have become Japan’s first female prime minister.
In the first round of competition, 43-year-old Shinjiro Koizumi was trying to become the youngest prime minister in the history of Japan after the war. 7 candidates including Koizumi were eliminated from the first round of voting and Takachi in the second round.
Ishiba, elected leader of the LDP, will replace Fumio Kishida next week. Prime Minister Kishida and all his ministers resigned on Tuesday.
It is believed that the LDP, which ruled almost without a majority after the end of the Second World War, is trying to win the trust of the people by appointing a new prime minister before the general elections.
Because there will be an election in Japan next October. And, along with the rising cost of living, there is dissatisfaction among the people regarding the difficult demographic situation and the issue of labor. On top of that, the approval rating of the party has decreased significantly due to the serial corruption scandal.
