Fumio Kishida’s resignation :
On Tuesday, Fumio Kishida, the prime minister of Japan, resigned along with his cabinet, making Shigeru Ishiba the most likely replacement to assume office. On Friday, Ishiba was selected as the head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, succeeding Kishida, who had said in August that he would step down at the conclusion of his three-year tenure.
The 67-year-old former minister of defense has the majority of seats in parliament, therefore he is almost guaranteed to be named premier. The seasoned politician, who is viewed as a bit of an outcast in his party and has lost four prior attempts at becoming leader, has already started selecting party and government representatives to run alongside him in the next general election.
These are the five main obstacles Ishiba will have to overcome as the new prime minister of Japan:
Security Threats :
Dangers to security Tensions over China’s more assertive moves in the area have increased since August, when Chinese military aircraft made their first confirmed breach into Japanese airspace. Relations have been strained on several occasions since then, most notably the tragic stabbing of the schoolboy in Shenzhen.
Security policy specialist Ishiba has suggested expanding regional partner dialogue over the use of US nuclear deterrence as well as creating an Asian counterpart to NATO. In addition, he advocated for a more equitable security relationship between the US and Japan, one that would see US sites in Japan managed jointly with Japanese Self Defense Force bases in the US.Since there is no legal requirement for mutual defense, conflicts are more likely to occur in Asia in the lack of a collective self-defense framework similar to NATO.
In these conditions, the West’s allies must establish an Asian counterpart of NATO in order to discourage China,” he wrote to Hudson. However, Nicholas Szechenyi of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies says that “there is no need to hyperventilate about the prospects for dramatic change” in defense strategy. “More security cooperation with the United States and other partners is favoured by the rapidly deteriorating security environment in Asia,” he stated.
LDP’s provocative Image :
After taking office in 2021, outgoing Prime Minister Kishida faced issues involving party funding and MPs’ ties to the Unification Church. After being officially selected as prime minister later that day, Ishiba intends to schedule a legislative election for October 27.
Making the LDP “a fair and just party” once more is his promise. Since World War II, the LDP has governed Japan almost continuously. Ishiba’s “ability to reflect the popular mood was evident earlier this year in his criticism of his party’s response to the political funding scandal,” according to James Brady of the consulting firm Teneo.
Still, some humiliated party members could be able to turn their lives around in a snap election, according to Naofumi Fujimura, a professor at Kobe University’s Graduate School of Law. According to him, some MPs “involved in the scandals may return to the public stage” since “in Japan, if you win an election, you are considered to be purified.” He told AFP this.
Financial Difficulties:
Japan’s growth has long been impeded by sluggish expenditure and wage increases. Ishiba has decided to back the Bank of Japan’s gradual shift away from its extremely lax policies, which was motivated by his victory in the LDP election, which caused Japanese stocks to plummet on Monday.
According to Teneo’s Brady, his victory “implies less pressure… for large-scale debt-financed spending or a return to monetary easing by the Bank of Japan,” measures supported more than ten years ago by deceased former premier Shinzo Abe. Ishiba has recommended raising corporation taxes in order to support the government’s current objective to increase defense spending to two percent of GDP by 2027.
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Ageing Population and Low Birthdate:
Along with addressing issues like Japan’s dropping birthrate and population as well as its resilience to natural catastrophes, he also promised to carry out Kishida’s economic policies, which were designed to bring the country out of deflation and achieve real salary rises.
population aging and low birthrate:After tiny Monaco, Japan has the oldest population on Earth. Recent data shows that the number of people in the nation who are 100 years of age or older is at a record high of over 95,000.
Ishiba intends to improve the nation’s low birth rate by enacting policies including extending parental support and reviewing the nation’s infamously long workweeks. He has called the revitalization of rural areas—where aging populations are becoming fewer and more isolated—along with security and disaster prevention, “my life’s work.”
Climate- Related Policy :
By 2050, Japan wants to be carbon neutral. Ishiba wants to boost the country’s reliance on renewable energy sources in addition to nuclear power, which is still controversial in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear tragedy in 2011. According to the E3G think group, Japan is the G7 nation with the greatest reliance on fossil fuels and the least amount of action taken to reduce emissions from its power systems.
Sayuri Shirai, an economist and former board member of the Bank of Japan, told AFP that Japan should prioritize decarbonization initiatives, particularly in the corporate sector.If Japanese businesses don’t take that action, they would be left behind by international competitors, she further said, adding that items with significant carbon emissions may face levies and fees.
https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/shigeru-ishiba-japan-new-pm-challenges-13820896.html
