The current Prime Minister of Japan and leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, has been re-elected by the minimum margin to once again lead the Japanese Executive in an investiture vote held this Monday in an extraordinary session of the Diet (the country’s Parliament). ). The new premierwho, but leaving behind the majority that his party enjoyed, will have ahead of him an arduous task of pacts and political balances with minority formations.
For the first time in 30 years, a second round of tie-breaking has had to be held in the lower house, after Ishiba failed to secure majority support from legislators in the first. The parliamentary vote has been the best reflection of the fragility that his next Government will face, at a time of global uncertainty, with the imminent return of Donald Trump to the White House, regional tensions with China and North Korea on the rise. , and an internal panorama complicated by the high cost of living that the Japanese face.
Ishiba, 67, replaced him on October 1 and immediately decided to call elections to reaffirm his position, taking advantage of the supposed pull of the surprise effect in the polls. The play, however, did not go as expected. His party, which has ruled Japan without interruptions since its founding in 1955, won the elections held on October 27, but with the worst results since 2009. Together with its traditional government partner, the Buddhist party Komeito, it was far from achieve the absolute majority they enjoyed. The PLD and Komeito were left with 215 seats, very far from the 288 of the previous legislature and a considerable distance from the 233 necessary to control the lower house, with 456 seats.
This Monday, in the second round of voting in the lower house, the strong body of the Diet, Ishiba prevailed over Yoshihiko Noda, president of the Constitutional Democratic Party (PCD), the main opposition party, with 221 votes against 160, according to the local press. The PCD was the main beneficiary of the voters’ punishment of the PLD in the elections, although it did not manage to achieve a sufficient majority to propose a real alternative government.
Discontent
The blow at the polls is the result of a mixture of . The shakeup has forced Ishiba to try to govern with specific support from minority formations, but for the moment he has declined to expand the government coalition.
The prospect of an Executive in the minority will force him to juggle. On the eve of the extraordinary parliamentary session this Monday, the ruling coalition has shown its willingness to work with the center-right People’s Democratic Party (PDP), one of the opposition minorities that has become one of the important pivotal forces. Its leader has expressed his willingness to reach specific agreements. One of the acid tests will be the upcoming approval of a supplementary budget for the coming months, which will require the support of at least one opposition party.
“I will adopt a sincere approach with all parties,” Ishiba assured in an appearance before the press before being sworn in, as reported by the Kyodo agency. “The important thing is to make Japan a peaceful nation and improve people’s lives. “In this we agree with the PDP and the PCD.”
Ishiba, a veteran politician who has held the Defense and Agriculture portfolios in the past, will soon begin the international agenda, which includes the G-20 summit being held next week in Brazil. Ishiba is also trying to organize a stop in the United States around those dates to meet with President-elect Trump, according to the Reuters agency.
