Shigeru Ishiba, who became Japan’s new prime minister on Tuesday, is a former defense minister known for his deep knowledge of security policy.
Ishiba’s push to bolster the military and call for the creation of an Asian NATO may anger Beijing, but he is cautious in his words regarding China.
“I will commit to protecting Japan’s territory,” he said on Friday after the ruling party voted him in as leader.
He added: “Japan wants to fulfill our proactive responsibility and begin discussions on how to build peace in this region.”
Tensions escalated after China and Russia intruded into Japanese airspace. Last week, a Japanese warship sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time.
Although he is relatively popular with the public, Ishiba made four unsuccessful attempts to lead his Liberal Democratic Party, including a 2012 bid against archrival Shinzo Abe, before prevailing this time against a nationalist.
Ishiba has long alienated party heavyweights with his “open criticism of the policies of the Abe-era LDP,” said Yu Uchiyama, a professor of politics at the University of Tokyo.
But he has recently “been vocal about the need for the LDP to turn over a new leaf when it comes to the funding scandal and other issues,” which may have worked to his advantage.
He also proposed creating a government agency responsible for disaster prevention in the earthquake-prone country that is also frequently hit by typhoons and heavy rains.
Parliament was officially elected on Tuesday, with the conservative Liberal Democratic Party enjoying a majority. Ishiba said he intends to call a general election on October 27.
“Don’t repeat mistakes”
Ishiba, whose politician father was a government minister, grew up in the remote rural area of Tottori.
He studied law at university and became a banker before entering politics, winning his first parliamentary seat for the Liberal Democratic Party in 1986, at the age of 29.
During his long career, the father of two held several key positions including Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party and Minister of Agriculture.
The veteran politician is a fan of trains, 1970s pop stars and making military models.
Ishiba pledged to boost the economy by encouraging domestic investment in the chip and artificial intelligence sectors among other policies, such as using nuclear power alongside renewable energy sources to fuel the resource-poor country.
He supports the Bank of Japan’s exit from its long-standing unconventional monetary easing policies – which Abe has championed – and said “there is room to raise the corporate tax.”
The money raised through this tax increase will help the government in its current plan to increase defense spending to the NATO level of 2% of GDP by 2027, according to Ishiba.
He aims to lift Japan’s low birth rate through measures including reviewing the country’s notoriously long working hours and expanding support for parents, and wants to combat a declining rural population by revitalizing regional economies.
Ishiba said he is uniquely qualified for the position because he has faced many setbacks when tackling difficult social issues, such as agricultural reforms.
“I always ask myself why and how things don’t always go well. I don’t want future generations to repeat the same mistakes,” he said in a recent debate.