10 facts about Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba

Shigeru Ishiba won the race to be the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, defeating Sanae Takaichi in a runoff last week. Today, we thought we’d learn a little more about the outspoken former defense secretary with a love for plastic models as he was officially elected Prime Minister at a special session of Parliament.

10 facts about Shigeru Ishiba

1. Ishiba’s father is the youngest governor in Tottori Prefecture’s history

Shigeru Ishiba was born on February 4, 1957 in Tokyo. When he was only 1 year old, his family moved to Tottori Prefecture, Japan’s least populous prefecture, after his father Jiro was elected governor there. He served as governor until 1974, making him the youngest governor ever Before becoming a member of the Senate. In 1981, Ishibajiro died of pancreatic cancer. His friend Tanaka Kakuei arranged his funeral.

2. Front pMinister Ryme convinces Ishiba to become a politician

After the funeral, Tanaka, who served as Japan’s prime minister from 1972 to 1974 and was later arrested in the Lockheed scandal, suggested that a friend’s son follow in his father’s footsteps and become a politician. Ishiba is I spent some time thinking about this while working at Mitsui Banking Corporation (now Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation). He eventually quit his job in 1983 to join the Thursday Club; the Tanaka faction of the Liberal Democratic Party.

3. Yoshiko rejected his first offer

1983 was a big year for Ishiba. As well as quitting his banking job to become a politician, he also tied the knot. He met his future wife Yoshiko at Keio University’s Mita Campus, where they both studied. After receiving his law degree in 1979, Ishiba proposed to Yoshiko. She said no. Shi Po was not determined to give up and persisted. A few years later, she finally agreed.

4. He visited tens of thousands of households during his first campaign

In July 1986, Ishiba ran for the first time as a Liberal Democratic Party candidate in the Tottori Prefecture House of Representatives election. He said he visited 54,000 homes during the campaign. The strategy worked, and he received 56,534 votes, enough to get him elected. He often said: “The number of hands you shake is the number of votes you get.” Tell Junior member of the Liberal Democratic Party. At 29, Ishiba becomes the youngest member of the House of Representatives.

Shinzo Abe | Anthony Quintano

5. Shinzo Abe defeated Shigeru Ishiba in two LDP leadership elections

Ishiba left the Liberal Democratic Party in 1993 to join the Japan Baath Party and returned in 1997. After resigning as Defense Minister, he participated in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election for the first time in 2008 and ranked fifth after Taro Aso became prime minister. Ishiba subsequently lost the 2012 and 2018 elections to Shinzo Abe. In 2020, he competed for the fourth time but finished third, behind Fumio Kishida and champion Yoshihide Suga. In 2024, he finally succeeded.

6. It is said that although Ishiba is very popular among the people, he has many enemies within the party.

“There is no doubt that I hurt many people’s feelings, caused unpleasant experiences, and made many people suffer. I sincerely apologize for all my shortcomings,” Ishiba said in a speech to Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers last Friday. An outspoken critic of the party and its past leaders, including Kishida and Abe, he is distrusted by many within the LDP. Some still consider him a traitor for abandoning a sinking ship in 1993 and calling for Aso’s resignation in 2008.

7. He supported different consort names and favored allowing female emperors

“I don’t see any reason not to do this,” Ishiba said. reply When asked if Japan should repeal the law requiring married couples to have the same last name. On same-sex marriage, he was one of only two of nine presidential candidates to answer a survey asking whether same-sex marriage should be legalized. he selected “Others” said that “the Japanese people need further understanding.” He currently favors allowing female emperors, although finarticulate Regarding this issue.

8. Ishiba’s proposal for Asia NATO described as ‘unrealistic’

In a recent opinion piece published by the Hudson Institute, Ishiba talked about the unequal relationship between the United States and Japan and said that the time is ripe to change the “asymmetric bilateral treaty” between the two countries. He also reiterated his belief: “Building an Asian version of NATO is critical for Western allies to deter China.” Jeffrey Hornan, director of national security studies at the RAND Institute descriptive The proposal was “unrealistic.”

9. His favorite pastime is making plastic models of fighter jets and warships

Shiba is called Group control of otakus (Military Geek) Because he has extensive knowledge of the armed forces and he likes to relax by building plastic models of warplanes and ships. In a past television interview, he described the hobby as “turning dreams into reality.” He once stayed up late to assemble a miniature version of the “Admiral Kuznetsov” aircraft carrier and presented it to the Russian Defense Minister.

10. He’s also a train nerd and a big fan of the 1970s pop band Candies

Ishiba loves trains and claims to have ridden the sleeper train between Tokyo and Tottori more than 1,000 times. He is said to read three books a day and cites Natsume Soseki and Mori Ogai as two of his favorite authors. He is a big fan of curry and heads the party’s ramen group. The Candies were his favorite pop group and had eight top ten hits in the 1970s. He often sang their songs at karaoke and memorized their lyrics.

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