Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has announced that Shigeru Ishiba won the LDP election, positioning him as next year’s prime minister. Nine candidates vied for the leadership after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced he wouldn’t seek re-election. With the LDP holding a parliamentary majority, Ishiba is expected to be named prime minister next week.
There was a change in leadership because this party is having many problems within itself, caused by scandals and differences that have hurt the party’s relevant parts. When Ishiba, 67, ran for president for the sixth and final time, most polls showed he would win. The LDP has been in charge of Japan since the end of World War II. Instead of holding a public vote, the party chose the winner through an internal vote.
Ishiba competed against sixty-three-year-old Sanae Takaichi, who wanted to be Japan’s first female leader. Although Ishiba favors permitting female emperors, a controversial topic, Takaichi has more conventional beliefs. She has opposed laws that would have allowed women to be emperors and to keep their maiden names.
Despite the LDP’s spectacular climb to power, both candidates committed to enact measures to stop the party’s steady popularity since 1955. The core of Ishiba’s economic policy to improve Japanese finances is salary hikes to counteract inflation.
Accusations of underreported political contributions and the party’s devotion to Japan’s unification have been the most controversial problems that have rocked the LDP. With prices increasing and the currency decreasing, many Japanese are starting to lose trust in the LDP.
Furthermore, Japan’s aging population poses long-term problems for labor and social services. Japan must reconsider its policies to solve these important issues and restore public trust before the October 2025 general election. Shigeru Ishiba won the LDP election, this will allow him to address these challenges and execute public-benefitting changes.
