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New Man, New Plans

JAPAN

When Ishiba Shigeru was running to become leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, he promised to “speak the truth with courage and sincerity.”

His comments appeared designed to address Japanese voters’ concerns about the performance of outgoing Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, whose approval ratings were “wallowing” at less than 30 percent, just before the East Asian country holds parliamentary elections on Oct. 27, the Economist wrote.

So far, Shigeru, known as a maverick and a populist with a liberal tinge, has been making good on his promise.

First, Shigeru has long been considered an outsider among the Liberal Democrats for his willingness to buck party bosses, as World Politics Review noted. Accordingly, the first thing he did in his first speech after he was sworn in as premier on Oct. 1 was to apologize for the slush fund scandal that has tainted the Liberal Democrats’ reputation, reported the Associated Press.

Shigeru, a former banker who has served in a number of cabinet posts including as defense minister, is now considering whether to endorse Liberal Democrats connected to the scandal, which involved hidden campaign funds, noted the Japan Times.

Second, Shigeru has argued that the Japanese government must address economic inequalities between urban and rural areas. To that end, he has vowed to end the deflationary environment that has curbed growth in Japan for decades, while also helping Japanese citizens who are suffering due to the inflation that has struck their economy in recent years, the Financial Times explained.

He called on lawmakers to support his plan to send stimulus checks to low-income households, subsidize local governments and raise the minimum wage, Reuters reported.

That’s not Shigeru’s only balancing act. He wants to strengthen Japan’s military; not to undercut the defense pact between his country and the US – a vital part of Japan’s plan to counter China’s growing power – but to reduce the asymmetry between them.

“Today’s Ukraine may be tomorrow’s East Asia,” he said in his inaugural speech, according to Nikkei Asia. “Japan is facing its most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II. There is no doubt that we should fundamentally strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities.”

Analysts such as Stanford University international policy lecturer Daniel Sneider say that Ishiba may be “the most intriguing and potentially difficult leader” of Japan for Americans. That’s because, as Sneider wrote in Toyo Keizai Online, the new leader “has a reputation as a Japanese Gaullist, someone willing to forge a more independent path for Japan.”

Still, Japan might for example seek out a cooperation agreement with the US on how to handle a possible nuclear confrontation with China, Voice of America wrote. Such a deal would mirror the US agreement with South Korea on how they would respond to North Korea deploying nuclear weapons.

Whether Shigeru’s different approach will work remains to be seen. But as Sebastian Maslow of the University of Tokyo wrote in the Conversation: “What is clear is that the Liberal Democratic Party, operating in crisis mode, has voted for a leader who is willing to change the party and to restore the public’s trust in government.”

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