Japan’s LDP picks Shigeru Ishiba as PM Fumio Kishida’s successor

The former defence minister pledged to make the country ‘a safe and secure place where everyone can live with a smile on their face once again’

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Shigeru Ishiba is set to become Japan’s next prime minister after winning the ruling party’s leadership election on Friday. Photo: Kyodo via Reuters

Published: 2:33pm, 27 Sep 2024Updated: 4:09pm, 27 Sep 2024

Former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba will become Japan’s next prime minister after winning the ruling party’s leadership vote on Friday, the official count showed.

Ishiba, 67, beat arch-nationalist Sanae Takaichi – who would have been the country’s first-ever woman leader – 215 votes to 194 in a run-off.

After his victory was announced at the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters in Tokyo, Ishiba smiled and took off his glasses to wipe his teary eyes, bowing repeatedly as his associates congratulated him.

“I will do my utmost to believe in the people, to speak the truth with courage and sincerity, and to make this country a safe and secure place where everyone can live with a smile on their face once again,” he said in a short speech.

Ishiba has come close to the top job before, including in 2012 when he lost to nationalist Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving leader who was later assassinated.

The military model-maker with an affinity for 1970s pop idols says his experience tackling tough social issues, such as agriculture reforms, makes him qualified for the job.