Ex-Defense Minister Ishiba chosen to lead Japan’s ruling party and become prime minister

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s governing party on Friday picked former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as its leader, setting him up to become prime minister next week.

The party leadership is a ticket to the top job because the Liberal Democratic Party’s governing coalition controls parliament.

Considered a defense policy expert, Ishiba secured a come-from-behind win against Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who hoped to become the country’s first female prime minister.

The LDP, which has enjoyed nearly unbroken rule since World War II, may have seen Ishiba’s more centrist views as crucial in pushing back challenges by the liberal-leaning opposition and winning voter support as the party reels from corruption scandals that drove down outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s popularity.

After his victory was announced, Ishiba stood up, waved and bowed repeatedly and pledged to “devote all my body and soul” to regain public trust.

“We must be a party that allows members to discuss the truth freely, a party that is fair and impartial and a party that is humble,” he told a news conference later Friday.

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He stressed Japan needs to reinforce its security, noting recent violations of Japanese airspace by Russian and Chinese warplanes and repeated missile launches by North Korea.

He pledged to continue Kishida’s economic policy aimed at pulling Japan out of deflation and achieving real salary increases, while tackling challenges such as Japan’s declining birthrate and population, as well as resilience in one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

“I will achieve a society in which women and young people can have hope, hard-working people feel rewarded, and anyone can excel,” Ishiba said.

He is expected to call a general election within weeks to capitalize on his win, but it is unclear when. He only said that he would seek the public’s mandate at an appropriate time after forming his new administration.

Ishiba has proposed an Asian version of the NATO military alliance, and said Friday that the idea is to form “an organic connection” of existing U.S.-led defense networks such as the ANZUS alliance with Australia and New Zealand and its alliances with South Korea and the Philippines. “We have to think how we can achieve peace and stability in this region,” he said.

He also suggested a more equal Japan-U.S. security alliance, and said having Japanese Self Defense Forces training bases in the United States would “contribute to the strengthening of the Japan-U.S. security alliance,” though he did not elaborate.

He is a supporter of Taiwan’ s democracy. He also advocates the establishment of a disaster management agency in one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

Ishiba, first elected to parliament in 1986, has served as defense minister, agriculture minister and in other key Cabinet posts, and was LDP secretary general under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

But he has long been viewed with wariness by powerful conservatives in his party. The 67-year-old former banker was running in the party leadership race for a fifth time and had said this was going to be his “final battle.”

A hawk on defense issues, Ishiba has riled some party leaders by supporting measures to improve gaps between men and women and legalizing same-sex marriage.

A record nine lawmakers, including two women, ran in the vote decided by LDP members of parliament and about 1 million dues-paying party members. That’s only 1% of the country’s eligible voters.

Some experts believe that party turmoil could mean that Japan will return to an era similar to the early 2000s, which saw “revolving door” leadership changes and political instability.

A succession of short-lived governments hurts Japanese prime ministers’ ability to set up long-term policy goals or develop trusted relations with other leaders.

On Tuesday, Kishida and his Cabinet ministers will resign. Ishiba, after being formally elected in a parliamentary vote, will then form a new Cabinet later in the day, he said.

Kishida congratulated Ishiba on his victory and said his election is the first step for a new LDP.

“The LDP will be reborn and will live up to the people’s expectations and achieve results,” he said. As Japan faces security tensions in the region and elsewhere, Japan must step up its own defense power and its ties with the United States, he said.

South Korea, which has substantially improved ties with Japan over the past year in the face of an increasingly assertive China, said in a Foreign Ministry statement that it was looking forward to “continuing active exchanges with the new prime minister.”

The main opposition group, the liberal-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, has struggled to build momentum despite the LDP scandals. Experts say its newly elected leader, centrist former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, is pushing a conservative shift for the party to attract swing voters.

Voters expressed hope that Ishiba would bring a positive change to politics.

“I think the LDP made a wise decision,” said Takeshi Irita, a 64-year-old engineer. “He is among the most realistic and stable ones and his mindset is relatively closer to the public.”

Hideko Arakawa, an 84-year-old retiree, said she has high expectations because of Ishiba’s expertise as a veteran lawmaker. “I hope he strives to make changes in Japan,” she said.

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AP video journalist Chisato Tanaka and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed.

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