In a significant turn of events, Shigeru Ishiba has returned as Japan’s prime minister just hours after his entire Cabinet resigned on Monday. Lawmakers in Japan’s powerful lower house, the Diet, reconvened in a special four-day session to formally elect a prime minister following the general election.
Ishiba, leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), emerged victorious despite not securing a majority, receiving 221 votes against opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda’s 160 votes in the 465-seat chamber, with 84 votes cast for other politicians.
The LDP, along with its coalition partner Komeito, remains the largest bloc in the lower house but lacks an outright majority after losses in October’s election. Consequently, Ishiba’s minority government will rely on support from smaller parties, particularly the centrist Democratic Party for the People (DPP), which has agreed to provide support on a vote-by-vote basis.
Ishiba, who first assumed office on October 1 and called for snap elections to strengthen his mandate, now faces the complex task of gaining cross-party cooperation to pass legislation. A new Cabinet is expected to be approved by Japan’s emperor later on Monday.
Ishiba’s immediate challenges include preparing a supplemental budget for welfare spending, which voters and opposition parties have pressed for in light of rising prices. He will also navigate potential trade and defense policy pressures from the United States, where President-elect Donald Trump’s administration may call for higher defense contributions and expanded Japanese manufacturing in the US.
Looking ahead, Japan will hold elections next year for the upper house, where the coalition’s narrow majority will be tested if Ishiba’s administration fails to regain public trust amid scandal-related setbacks.