Ex-defense minister set to become Japan's next PM
After five tries, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba will finally lead the Liberal Democratic Party — and Japan, The Japan Times reports.
The veteran Ishiba, who has also served as party secretary-general, won the LDP presidential election on Friday, defeating economic security minister Sanae Takaichi in a runoff vote, and is set to be named prime minister next week after a parliamentary vote.
Ishiba won the runoff with 215 votes — 189 from LDP lawmakers plus 26 votes from local LDP chapters — against Takaichi, who garnered 194 votes. In the initial round of voting among eight other candidates, he won 154 votes, advancing to the deciding round against Takaichi, who garnered 181 votes.
Ishiba has long been known as an expert on defense issues and a champion of regional revitalization, which put him at or near the top of pre-election media polls of both the public and LDP chapter members on which of the nine candidates would be best to lead the party.