Policy Backgrounders

Japan’s New Prime Minister

October 04, 2024

Key Insights

Ishiba Shigeru, Japan’s new Prime Minister, received the votes of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmakers on his fifth try for the top job. His first priority will be an election he has called for October 27; he also faces a number of challenges both foreign and domestic, not least suspicion among LDP members of the Diet that he is too much of a maverick rather than a party loyalist.

• The LDP is expected to win the election easily, but Ishiba’s strength in office will depend on the margin he is able to achieve against the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, which also recently selected a new leader, former Prime Minister Noda Yoshihida.
• Ishiba favors looser monetary policy to help Japan’s sluggish growth and warned against further rate hikes, even as the Bank of Japan has recently begun raising interest rates.
• He also proposed greater defense autonomy for Japan, a revision of the US-Japan security treaty, and an eventual “Asian NATO,” which received a cool reception in Washington. But he also wants to expand close defense cooperation with the US.
• Somewhat unexpectedly, Ishiba’s Cabinet did not include many of his former rivals. If Ishiba falters over the next year, other figures in the LDP may call for his replacement relatively quickly.