Getting To Know The New Figure Of Shigeru Ishiba, Japanese Prime Minister

The figure of Shigeru Ishiba (REUTERS/Issei Kato)

YOGYAKARTA - Shigeru Ishiba was elected as the new Japanese Prime Minister after winning the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Having entered parliament in 1986, Ishiba is not a new person in the Japanese government. So what is the figure of Shigeru Ishiba and his actions in politics.

Shigeru Ishiba is a 67-year-old politician who has had a long career in the Japanese government. Ishiba's victory this time was the culmination of four previous attempts that failed to win the party leadership position.

Known to have a character as a "lone wolf", Ishiba admits that he prefers to read three books a day rather than socialize with his political counterparts. With this new position, Ishiba is faced with a tough task to restore public confidence in the party that has controlled Japan for the past seven decades.

Shigeru Ishiba was born in Tottori Prefecture, a coastal area in southern Japan. His father, Jiro Ishiba, served as governor of Tottori Prefecture in the 1950s. While his mother is a Japanese teacher. Ishiba completed his legal studies at Keio University and started his career as a banker.

After his father died in 1981, Ishiba entered politics at the push of a close friend of his father. He was first elected to parliament in 1986 at the age of 29. The beginning of his career at that time made him Japan's youngest lawmaker at the time.

During his 12 terms of office in parliament, Ishiba became one of the veterans of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and had competed with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2012. Although later his role was ruled out by Kishida. Most of his time spent dealing with security issues.

In his 38-year political career, Ishiba is also known for his efforts to revive rural communities. In 2007, he was appointed Minister of Defense, in addition to holding various other important positions in the cabinet and party.

Under the leadership of Fumio Kishida, Ishiba is often marginalized and criticizes party policies. He opposed several policies, including increasing the use of nuclear energy. He also criticized the party for not allowing married couples to use different surnames.

In his campaign which began at a Shinto temple in Tottori Prefecture, Ishiba called his candidacy his "last fight." He is determined to "restart Japan and make its people smile again."

As part of the vision, Ishiba promised to move several ministries and government agencies from Tokyo to revive underdeveloped areas in Japan. He also proposed the establishment of a special agency that would be responsible for the construction of emergency shelters in disaster-prone Japanese areas.

Ishiba's view, which frankly often raises tensions with fellow members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). His firmness in opposing controversial policies, including the insistence that Kishida and several previous prime ministers resign. This political situation made him have many enemies within the party.

This tension was exacerbated by his decision to join the opposition group for four years in 1993. This condition also resulted in the difficulty of getting support from fellow lawmakers when running for the party leadership election.

Even so, Ishiba managed to advance to the second round of elections and competed with the Minister of Economic Security Sanae Takaichi. In a speech after the vote on LDP members, Ishiba admitted that his rigid and less compromise attitude had damaged his relationship with his party colleagues.

"I realized that I had hurt a lot of feelings, caused an unpleasant experience, and made many people suffer. I sincerely apologize for all my shortcomings," he said.

That's at first glance knowing the figure of Shigeru Ishiba who is currently the Prime Minister of Japan. Ishiba is a senior or has long been experienced in Japanese government. Also read the artillery used for World War II exploded at Japanese airports.

Stay up to date with the latest domestic and other overseas news on VOI. We present the latest and updated information nationally and internationally.