The veteran of the Japanese legislator Shigeru Ishiba, who supports the creation of a “NATO Asia version”, was scheduled for Friday to become Prime Minister after winning a closely fought competition to lead the Liberal Democratic leader party.
Since the LDP has a parliamentary majority, the next party leader will replace Fumio Kishida as Prime Minister. Kishida announced her intention to resign in August.
“We must believe people, tell the truth with courage and sincerity, and work together to make Japan a safe and secure country where everyone can live with a smile,” Ishiba said in a brief speech to the legislators after the party’s vote.
The LDP has chosen Ishiba while Japan struggling with growing security threats and war risks in the region, with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, nuclear ambitions of North Korea and the growing military assistance of China.
Ishiba, 67, who said that the security environment changes were the reason why he announced his candidacy, was strong on deterrence.
The former Minister of Defense expressed his desire to create an “Asian version of NATO” and to bring equality to the Agreement on the status of Japan-US of forces.
“Ukraine is not a member of NATO. It is not difficult to imagine that it prompted the president [Vladimir] Putin’s decision, “he said, stressing the need to build a collective security system in Asia at a press conference on September 10, referring to the Russian chief’s decision to send troops to Ukraine.
Although Ishiba does not question the importance of the security alliance with the United States, he said that Japan should play a greater role in the Alliance and have a word to say about how American troops are deployed in Japan.
For example, he wrote in his memories in 2024 that “Japan is still not a truly independent country” due to “asymmetry” of its dependence on America for its security.
Ishiba also announced that he would plan to revise the sofa, or the forces’ status, which establishes the rules for US military operations in Japan. The agreement was concluded when the Japanese-US security treaty was revised in 1960 and remained unchanged.
Ishiba said that as president of the LDP, and therefore the Prime Minister, he would seek to establish a base in the United States to train the self-defense forces of Japan.
He argued that Sofa should be at the same level as an agreement that would be established on the creation of such an homeless database in the United States
“If we want to revise the sofa, it must be something that will strengthen the alliance and improve the regional security environment,” said Ishiba.
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Ishiba is known as a solid donor of Taiwanese democracy while calling for a more in -depth commitment with China.
He wrote in his memories that the confusion of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan were motivated by emotion, and not a pragmatic evaluation of Chinese threats and the impact on Japan.
The election of the nail party consisted of two towers. In the first round, the 368 members of the LDP of the Legislative Assembly and 368 basic members voted. During a second runoff between the two best candidates, 415 votes were expressed.
Ishiba arrived second, after the Minister of Economic Security Sanae Takaichi, in the first round, but he beat Takaichi in 21 votes.
“I want to protect Japan, protect people, protect local regions and be the LDP that follows the rules,” said Ishiba after the first vote.
He will be officially announced as Prime Minister during a special legislative session on October 1.
Edited by Mike Firn.