New Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru debuts, expected to make history with new cabinet

Early in the afternoon of October 1, the Japanese National Assembly held an extraordinary session and elected the new President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Ishiba Shigeru, as the country's 102nd Prime Minister.

New Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru was introduced at an extraordinary session of the National Assembly on the afternoon of October 1. (Source: Kyodo)

Earlier, on the same morning, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, who has held this position since October 2021, and his cabinet resigned en masse, paving the way for the Japanese Parliament to elect a new Prime Minister.

Kyodo News reported that the results of the vote held at the plenary session of the House of Representatives that opened at 1:30 p.m. (Japan time) showed that Mr. Ishiba received 291 out of 461 valid votes in the House of Representatives, officially becoming the 102nd Prime Minister of the Land of the Rising Sun, replacing Mr. Kishida.

The result of the vote in the Japanese parliament was predicted, as the LDP holds a majority in both houses. Before that, Mr. Ishiba had listed the new cabinet members.

In the expected list of 19 new ministers, there are only two people from Prime Minister Kishida's old cabinet: Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa and Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Saito Tetsuo of the Komeito Party - the LDP's partner in the ruling coalition.

The remaining personnel are all new, including 13 officials entering the cabinet for the first time and 4 people who have held ministerial positions in previous government terms.

Among the four people who have held the position of minister, there are two important positions: Minister of Defense and Minister of Foreign Affairs, held by Mr. Nakatani Gen and Mr. Iwaya Takeshi, respectively.

Mr. Kato Katsunobu, the candidate running for LDP President, was recently appointed Minister of Finance and Mr. Murakami Seiichiro became Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The 13 new ministers joining the cabinet is the highest number ever, including Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Muto Yoji; Minister of Justice Makihara Hideki; Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ozato Yasuhiro; Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Fukuoka Takamaro...

The new cabinet also includes two female members: Minister in charge of child-related policies Mihara Junko and Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Science and Technology Abe Toshiko. This is one fewer female member than the Cabinet under Mr. Kishida.

According to the plan, after being elected Prime Minister, Mr. Ishiba will have a meeting with key figures in the ruling coalition, then establish the new Cabinet Headquarters at the Prime Minister's Office. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa will announce the list of cabinet members.

Previously, on September 30, new LDP President Ishiba also reshuffled the party's leadership, with former Prime Minister Aso Taro holding the position of the party's highest-ranking advisor; former Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide holding the position of LDP Vice President.

In addition, General Council Chairman Moriyama Hiroshi was appointed as LDP Secretary General; Finance Minister Suzuki Shunichi as General Council Chairman; former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera as Chairman of the Policy Research Council; and Koizumi Shinjiro as Chairman of the Election Strategy Committee.

On October 1, the Japanese House of Representatives decided on a schedule to dissolve the House of Representatives to hold an early general election (the 4-year term of the House of Representatives ends in October 2025).

It is expected that the decision to dissolve the House of Representatives will be made on October 9, the last day of the extraordinary National Assembly session, finalizing and posting the election list on October 15, and voting and counting on October 27.

New Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru was elected to the House of Representatives 12 times and has held important positions such as Minister of Defense, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Regional Reconstruction and Secretary General of the LDP.

According to the schedule, after the Prime Minister's inauguration ceremony and cabinet recognition ceremony, scheduled to be held on the evening of October 1 at the Imperial Palace, Mr. Ishiba will attend a press conference to present basic domestic and foreign policies during his term.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tan-thu-tuong-nhat-ban-ishiba-shigeru-ra-mat-du-kien-lam-mot-dieu-lich-su-voi-noi-cac-moi-288359.html