Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has won a run-off vote in parliament to stay in his post, after an election setback last month that saw his coa

Japan's Ishiba stays as PM despite election setback

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2024-11-15 05:30:03

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has won a run-off vote in parliament to stay in his post, after an election setback last month that saw his coalition lose its majority in the lower house.

Ishiba, 67, took over as prime minister from Fumio Kishida, who stepped down in September amid a series of scandals that rattled public trust in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) party.

In an extraordinary parliament session on Monday, Ishiba defeated Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the main opposition party Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

As the leader of a minority government, he also faces the challenge of having to heed to demands from the opposition bloc for any future bills or budget to pass - with fears of potential political gridlock in a hung parliament.

A former defence minister, Ishiba gained a reputation in Japanese politics for being openly critical of figures in his party, including Kishida and Japan’s longest-serving leader Shinzo Abe. That reputation scored him points among voters, even as it ruffled feathers within his own party.

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