Shigeru Ishiba will face five key challenges when he becomes Japan's new prime minister on Tuesday after being voted leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
Security threats
Nerves are running high over China's increasingly aggressive moves in the region, following the first confirmed incursion by a Chinese military aircraft into Japanese airspace in August.
Other incidents have soured relations since then, including the fatal stabbing of a Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen.
Security policy expert Ishiba wants to boost Japan's defense capabilities and proposes an "Asian NATO" to counter threats including North Korean missile tests.
He also wants a more equal alliance with the United States -- "but there is no need to hyperventilate about the prospects for dramatic change" in defense policy, said Nicholas Szechenyi of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"The rapidly deteriorating security environment in Asia favors more security cooperation with the United States and other partners," he said.
LDP scandals
Outgoing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had record-low approval ratings, partly due to scandals over party funding and lawmakers' links to the Unification Church.
Ishiba, who intends to call a snap election for October 27, has pledged to make the LDP "a fair and just party" again.
James Brady of consulting firm Teneo said Ishiba's "ability to reflect the popular mood was evident earlier this year in his criticism of his party's response to the political funding scandal".
But a general election could also rehabilitate some disgraced party members, said Naofumi Fujimura, a professor at the Graduate School of Law at Kobe University.
"In Japan, if you win an election, you are considered to be purified," so some MPs "involved in the scandals may return to the public stage", he told AFP.
Lackluster economy
Sluggish consumption and wage growth have long been a drag on growth in Japan.
Ishiba backs the Bank of Japan's gradual move away from its maverick ultra-loose policies -- a stance that caused the yen to surge after his victory in the LDP vote, which in turn led Japanese stocks to tank on Monday.
His win "implies less pressure... for large-scale debt-funded spending or a return to monetary easing by the Bank of Japan", policies championed over a decade ago by assassinated ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said Teneo's Brady.
To help the government's existing plan to ramp up defense spending to two percent of GDP by 2027, Ishiba has suggested a hike in corporate taxes.
Aging population
Japan has the world's oldest population after tiny Monaco, and its population aged 100 or older is at a record high of more than 95,000, recent data shows.
Ishiba aims to raise Japan's low birth rate through measures including a review of the country's notoriously long working hours, and expanding support for parents.
He has called the revitalization of rural regions -- where shrinking elderly communities are becoming increasingly isolated -- "my life's work" along with security and disaster prevention.
Climate policy
Japan is targeting carbon neutrality by 2050, and Ishiba wants to boost the use of renewables to fuel resource-poor Japan, alongside nuclear power -- still a delicate issue after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.
The E3G think tank ranks Japan in last place -- by some distance -- among G7 nations on efforts to reduce emissions from their power systems, with the highest reliance on fossil fuels.
Economist and former Bank of Japan board member Sayuri Shirai told AFP that Japan needs to focus more on decarbonization strategies, especially in business.
"If Japanese companies don't do that, they will lose out to global competition" because high-carbon emission goods could be punished with taxes and tariffs, she said.
© 2024 AFP
11 Comments
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Burning Bush
No mention of the cost of living. Pass the buck on to companies to increase wages.
Not his problem it seems.
This could be his biggest mistake.
Sh1mon M4sada
Interesting how the nikkei freefall after Ishiba's win. He's saying all the right things in terms of higher wages etc. which should translate to better spending and more profits???
Or is the market saying interest rate normalisation is going to siphon profits from companies?
Either way, it must be a surprise to the market that he won particularly that he trailed behind others in the first round.
Now he's got all these new people in cabinet that are low on experience...
IMHO, Japan is going to be in for very interesting times, particularly on October 27th.
Michael Machida
I think there are way more than a mere five challenges. Way more.
Sh1mon M4sada
Actually, he does think normalising interest rate will help appreciate the yen which will translate into lower costs for imports. Though I doubt he understands fully the ramification to the economy if IR is not managed as a function of cost of money to businesses AND consumers.
To me, a number of LDP candidates pulled a swifty on each other to remove Kishida using the decades old 'slush fund' dirt playbook. It's back to revolving door leadership now...because they all want the top job, and the only way to get that is snipe each other.
garymalmgren
higher wages etc. which should translate to better spending and more profits???
I am not sure that higher wages means more profits, but they do translate to higher production costs, higher consumer prices, higher inflation, and would have an effect on the yen exchange rate.
So, as with many things in life, not as simple as it seams.
garymalmgren
Also no mention of that on-going problem that the LDP has been grappling with for many years and seem to unable to move on.
Should married women be able to maintain their maiden name?
obladi
this might just have been a nikkei bubble caused by expectations of a Sanae win
deanzaZZR
Such a shocking assessment from ... checks institutional association, Center for Strategic and International Studies. CSIS contributors include Lockheed Martin, Exxon Mobil, Northrop Grumman, Government of the USA, Government of Japan and last but not least, Taiwan. Mind you it is not the Government of Taiwan.
Whats up Chums?
They forget to add foreigners committing crimes in Japan.
toto_kiboko
Today, the cost of living jumps quite significantly. The saba bento I used to buy is going up by 25% let alone the increment of the postal services etc. Does it make sense to call an election so soon after this heavy burden that we will all feel?
Spidey
As long as this country keeps promoting aging oyajis to positions of power, nothing is going to change. People need to step up and put progressive and forward thinking individuals to these positions.
But who am I kidding...
S