Japan's parliament approves new prime minister

Photo: Shigeru Ishiba

Japan's Parliament has confirmed Shigeru Ishiba, head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, as the country's new prime minister, the Associated Press reports.

Ishiba's predecessor as both party chairman and prime minister, Fumio Kishida, resigned amid scandals, including corruption. He served in both posts for three years, during which time his approval rating in the country plummeted from 50% to 16%. Along with him, the rating of the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in power in Japan for almost the entire time since World War II, has also fallen.

Ishiba promised to continue Kishido's policies: to fight deflation, achieve wage growth, overcome the decline in the birth rate, stop the population decline and increase Japan's resilience to natural disasters.

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Earlier, he also proposed creating an Asian version of NATO and discussing more with regional partners and the United States the issue of using American nuclear potential.

Ishiba is expected to call early parliamentary elections for October 27 in the near future so that the new cabinet can receive public support “as soon as possible”. The opposition criticized the haste of this decision: the parliament and voters will have little time to study and discuss Ishiba's policies.

Judging by the latest polls, the Liberal Democratic Party, despite Kishido's failures, enjoys the greatest support among the parties. The opposition has significantly fewer supporters. However, the majority of voters surveyed have not supported anyone for a long time.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga