Ishiba Won the Runoff Vote to become the Prime Minister of Japan: Minority Government
Kanako Mita and Sawako Utsumi
Modern Tokyo Times
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (Liberal Democratic Party – LDP) was formally re-elected the leader of Japan – after recently failing to reach a majority in the Lower House election. Hence, he was forced into a runoff against Yoshihiko Noda (Leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan – CPDJ).
The LDP held 247 of 465 seats in the Lower House before the election – but plummeted to 191 seats. Accordingly, even with its junior coalition partner Komeito, who also performed poorly with a reduced 24 seats in the recent election, the LDP is unable to govern a majority government.
Ishiba will now lead a minority government after defeating Noda by 221 to 160 votes. Noticeably, 84 politicians favored other candidates. This highlights the weakened position of the LDP.
Lee Jay Walker (Modern Tokyo Times analyst) says, “Yuichiro Tamaki, the leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), understands the need for political stability and helping poorer members of society. For example, the DPP seeks to increase the income tax threshold to 1.78 million yen from the ridiculously low 1.03 million yen under the ruling LDP. However, Tamaki’s extramarital affair scandal entails that his increasing popularity might suffer.”
Ishiba – understanding his weakened position – says he will sincerely listen to Noda, Tamaki, and other voices.
Ishiba said, “I will take a sincere approach to all parties.”
Ishiba pointedly said, “The important point is to make sure that Japan is a peaceful nation and people’s livelihoods improve. We are on the same page on this with the DPP and the CDPJ.”
The last runoff election in Japan was three decades ago.
The BBC reports, “In recent years, the LDP has also come under scrutiny over political scandals including its ties to the controversial Unification Church and allegations that its politicians had concealed millions of dollars in fundraiser donations.”
Ishiba needs to listen to all constructive parties because Japan needs political stability – given the geopolitical convulsions of the region. Equally, the working poor and poorer members of society need sound economic policies that provide hope, including the proposed DPP increased tax threshold.
AP News reports, “His imminent challenge is compiling a supplementary budget for the fiscal year through March, under pressure from voters and opposition parties to raise spending on welfare and take steps to offset rising prices.”
After the election, Ishiba said, “We want to proactively incorporate (opposition parties’) policies where we are lacking or where we should make changes.”
Japan faces uncertainty. Hence, politicians need to put society first and not party politics.
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