Shigeru Ishiba (Shigeru Ishiba)

Shigeru Ishiba (Shigeru Ishiba)

Biography

2024: Elected Prime Minister of Japan

On September 27, 2024, former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba was elected chairman of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) following the second round of voting. He will become the country's new prime minister.

According to the results of the first round, 67-year-old Ishiba received 154 votes. Despite his popularity with the public, another candidate, 43-year-old Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, dropped out of the race along with six other candidates. As a result, Ishiba's rival in the second round was the Minister of Economic Security Sanae Takaichi, who was trying to become the first woman - the Prime Minister of Japan. However, Ishiba won with 215 votes to 194.

After the election, Ishiba said that he would pay increased attention to the topic of security as prime minister. He has to cope with the growing discontent about the rising cost of living in Japan and find a way out of the unstable situation in the field of regional security.

We will end the widespread mistrust of the LDP. After the end of the elections, we will direct all our efforts to protect Japan, local territories and the people of the country, - said the elected prime minister.

Ishiba was born on February 4, 1957 into a family of politicians. His father, Jiro Ishiba, served as governor of Tottori Prefecture from 1958 to 1974, and then became Minister of the Interior. After graduating from Keio Shigeru University, Ishiba worked in finance, and then followed in his father's footsteps. Over the years, Ishiba served as Minister of Defense, Minister of Agriculture and Secretary General of the LDP. Previously, he proposed creating an Asian version of NATO, as well as an updated security alliance between Japan and the United States.^[1]

Notes