Japan’s former defence minister Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday was formally elected by the country’s parliament to serve as its prime minister days after beating hardline nationalist Sanae Takaichi in a run-off vote.
Ishiba, whose conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) holds a majority, is known for his in-depth security policy knowledge.
Ishiba’s push to boost the military and call for the creation of an Asian NATO could rile Beijing, but he is careful with his words concerning China.
“I will be committed to protecting Japan’s territory,” he said on Friday after the ruling party voted him leader. “Japan wants to fulfil our proactive responsibility and start discussions about how to build peace in this region.”
Tensions are running high after incursions into Japanese airspace by China and Russia. A Japanese warship also last week sailed through the Taiwan Strait for the first time.
Although he is relatively popular with the public, Ishiba had four failed bids to lead his LDP, including a 2012 try against his arch-rival Shinzo Abe, before prevailing this time against a nationalist.
For a long time Ishiba alienated party heavyweights with his “outspoken criticism of LDP policies under Abe”, said Yu Uchiyama, a politics professor at the University of Tokyo.
But recently he has 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 in his favour.
The 67-year-old politician has also proposed creating a government agency in charge of disaster prevention in the earthquake-prone country that is also frequently hit by typhoons and heavy rains.
Ishiba has said he intends to call a general election for October 27.
Ishiba, whose politician father was at one point a cabinet minister, studied law at university and became a banker before entering politics, winning his first parliamentary seat with the LDP in 1986, aged 29.
During his long career, the father of two has held several key posts including LDP secretary general and minister for agriculture.
