The new Japanese Prime Minister's leadership journey, although full of difficulties, is an opportunity for Ishiba Shigeru to affirm his prestige and ability.
In a press conference immediately after taking office, Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru said he had asked ministers to formulate an economic relief package to ease the bite of inflation.
“We would need to support people suffering from rising costs right now until a positive growth cycle with wage increases outpacing inflation and driving capital expenditures is established,” Ishiba said in his first policy speech to parliament as the country’s prime minister.
As a veteran politician with great influence in the LDP, Ishiba Shigeru has held many important positions, such as Minister of Defence, Minister of Agriculture, and Secretary General of the LDP.
The new Japanese Prime Minister emphasised that it is important for the Land of the Rising Sun to promote strong wage growth in the context of lacklustre private consumption. Ishiba Shigeru also pledged to restore public confidence in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
As a veteran politician with great influence in the LDP, Ishiba Shigeru has held many important positions, such as Minister of Defense, Minister of Agriculture, and Secretary General of the LDP.
As Prime Minister, this experienced leader shouldered the responsibility of improving the image and reputation of the LDP in the eyes of the people after the political fund scandal, thereby restoring the trust of Japanese voters in this party in particular and politics in general.
Experts say that to do this, the new Prime Minister must boldly promote reform and innovation within the LDP. This task is considered to face many difficulties in internal party divisions, which were clearly shown in the recent race for the party chairmanship with the largest number of candidates since 1972.
Another thorny issue that must be solved is to lift the Japanese economy out of stagnation. Recent figures show that the economic picture has improved after a long period of being in the doldrums, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from March to June 2024 increasing by 2.9% compared to the same period in 2023.
However, experts are still skeptical about the ability of household consumption to recover as the country struggles with persistent inflation.
The new prime minister stressed that reviving consumption is the key to Japan's economic recovery and pledged to accelerate Mr Kishida Fumio's wage-raising policies to boost household incomes. Japan's economy is currently very vulnerable to external shocks.
Foreign affairs will test the new Prime Minister's leadership skills. During the election campaign, Ishiba Shigeru expressed his desire to strengthen Japan's defence capabilities in a complex security environment.
The politician declared that he would strive to make the Indo-Pacific region "free and open" by cooperating with key allies, the US and other like-minded countries.
He is also expected to continue efforts to mend the tense relationship between Japan and South Korea, which Kishida Fumio had implemented very effectively with a series of shuttle diplomacy activities.
Immediately after taking office as Prime Minister, Ishiba Shigeru had phone calls with US President Joe Biden and the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s President Yoon Suk Yeol to affirm his desire to strengthen the US-Japan alliance as well as improve Japan-the RoK relations and cooperate to respond to common challenges.
Japan's new Prime Minister will deliver an important speech on development policy on October 4. Recent opinion polls show that many people have high expectations for this leader, believing he will lead the country in the right direction during the current global economic and political turmoil.
