Japan picks ‘Asian NATO’ backer Shigeru Ishiba as new PM, intensifying tensions with China

Ishiba, 67, has been a long-time aspirant for the PM's post and has previously worked as a banker. (Credit: AP)

Japan’s ruling party picked Shigeru Ishiba as its next leader, positioning an advocate of an “Asian NATO” to become prime minister in a move that risks further increasing tensions with China.

Ishiba, a 67-year-old party veteran who has served in several senior roles including defense minister, beat Sanae Takaichi in a run-off for the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party, helped by strong support among rank-and-file members.

Read: Who is Shigeru Ishiba, the new prime minister of Japan

He has supported the Bank of Japan’s efforts to tighten monetary policy and emphasized greater development of regional economies to tackle the depopulation of rural areas, aided by government spending.

The yen surged after the result, strengthening to 143.34 per dollar after having weakened through the day on expectations central bank easing advocate Takaichi might prevail.

During the campaign, Ishiba emphasized the need to increase Japan’s defense capabilities and floated the idea of creating an Asian NATO-style collective security agreement to better deter aggression from countries like China and North Korea.

A record nine candidates contested the LDP’s election after outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida  said last month he wouldn’t seek a second term. Kishida’s approval ratings had sagged due to a party slush-fund scandal and sticky inflation. Ishiba, who will hold a press conference around 6 pm in Tokyo, is all but certain to be approved as prime minister by parliament in a vote expected on October 1.

The new premier will need to steer the nation through a period of transformation as it emerges from three decades of stagnation and faces mounting diplomatic and security challenges.

Signs of a resurgence in the world’s fourth-largest economy have reignited enthusiasm for Japan as a global investment destination. Wages and prices have returned to growth, the stock market is revisiting levels not seen since the 1980s, and the central bank has wound down its unorthodox monetary stimulus program.

But the new prime minister will also face persistent deep structural problems, not least an aging and shrinking population, stubbornly low levels of productivity and economic polarization. Growing military threats from China, Russia and North Korea will also demand the new leader’s attention.

With a national election due sometime in the next year — but expected as early as next month — the candidates had sought to appeal to the public with proposals to boost incomes and accelerate growth.

Among the other pressing issues for the new leader will be the need to strike up a cooperative relationship with the US and whoever succeeds President Joe Biden in the November presidential election. The US is Japan’s only security treaty ally and has its largest permanent foreign military presence in Japan, with around 55,000 troops.

All of the candidates emphasized a consolidation of the US alliance, but relations have been put under strain by Biden’s assertion that he would block an attempt by Nippon Steel Corp. to buy United States Steel Corp.

Fraying ties with China emerged as a key theme late in the LDP election campaign period after the fatal stabbing earlier this month of a Japanese schoolboy in China. All of the candidates called for a full investigation and demanded steps to protect Japanese citizens.

Tensions have also been inflamed after Chinese military aircraft made an unauthorized entry into Japanese airspace for the first time last month. And this week Japan reportedly sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait for the first time, a move all but certain to anger Beijing.

During speeches and debates in the campaign period, policy differences between the candidates were often hard to distinguish. But a clear divide has emerged on the issue of whether to allow married couples to keep separate surnames, a question that has become a litmus test for how far candidates may be willing to accept a more diverse Japan. Ishiba supports a change.

Despite the array of internal and external challenges for Japan, one of the dominant themes of the campaign has been party reform following revelations of secret payments to lawmakers who were part of groups known as factions. The dismantling of most factions created one of the most competitive races for party leadership in decades.