Mr. Shigeru Ishiba continues to be Prime Minister of Japan

On the afternoon of November 11, Mr. Shigeru Ishiba officially continued to hold the position of Prime Minister of Japan after 2 rounds of voting in the House of Representatives.

"The House of Representatives has appointed Shigeru Ishiba as prime minister," House Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga announced on November 11.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba

According to Reuters, lawmakers had to vote in a second round after neither Mr. Ishiba nor the leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Yoshihiko Noda, won a majority in the first round. According to the results of the second round of voting, Mr. Ishiba won 221 votes and Mr. Noda won 160 votes out of a total of 465 seats in the Japanese House of Representatives.

With this result, Mr. Shigeru Ishiba became Prime Minister of Japan. Last month, he called a snap election for the lower house. As a result, his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito (Komeito) won the most votes but lost the majority they had held since 2012. This means that he will face political deadlock or need to compromise to pass new bills.

The most pressing challenge facing Mr. Ishiba is drafting a supplementary budget for the fiscal year through March 2025, under pressure from voters and opposition parties to increase welfare spending and price-gouging measures, according to Reuters.

In addition, voter discontent over inflation and a slush fund scandal has eroded public confidence in the ruling coalition between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito. The ruling coalition currently has a slim majority in Japan's upper house, and the coalition could be at risk if Ishiba fails to restore public confidence before the upper house election in 2025, according to Reuters.

Mr. Ishiba is expected to announce the new cabinet on the evening of November 11. Prime Minister Ishiba is currently preparing for a series of international activities, including the G20 Summit in Brazil on November 18-19. According to AFP, Mr. Ishiba is also expected to meet US President-elect Donald Trump later this month.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-shigeru-ishiba-tiep-tuc-lam-thu-tuong-nhat-ban-185241111185208467.htm