Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba attends a session of the lower house in Tokyo on October 9, 2024. YUICHI YAMAZAKI / AFP Freshly elected, the new Japanese prime minister wants to put his party to the test in the elections. Shigeru Ishiba dissolved the lower house of Parliament on Wednesday October 9 before early legislative elections on October 27. “We want to face this election fairly and with sincerity, so that the government gains public trust,” Mr. Ishiba, 67, told reporters on Wednesday. Lower House Speaker Fukushiro Nukaga then read a letter from the prime minister bearing the emperor’s seal, formally announcing the dissolution. Through this election, the leader in office since last week wants to seek to consolidate his mandate in order to implement his program of strengthening security and defense, increased support for low-income households and revitalization of the countryside. Japanese. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The new Japanese prime minister wants an “Asian NATO” Add to your selections The government of his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, in office for almost three years, suffered from historically low popularity polls, partly due to of a financing scandal which affected his Liberal Democratic Party (PLD, conservative right), from which Mr. Ishiba also comes. Mr. Kishida was also unpopular because of his apparent inability to fight inflation, which has undermined the purchasing power of the Japanese since 2022. The PLD nevertheless has with its coalition partner, Komeito (center-right), a comfortable majority in the lower house (290 seats out of 465). A party undermined by scandals The decision to call early elections has been criticized because it contradicts a previous commitment by Mr Ishiba to face opposition in Parliament. This weekend, the Prime Minister announced that, during the vote, the PLD would not support certain party members implicated in the party’s financing scandal. Mr. Ishiba, who favors the creation of a regional military alliance on the NATO model, declared last week that Japan’s security had “never been under greater threat since the end of the Second World War.” Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers The Asian NATO project of the next Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba could exacerbate tensions between Japan and China Add to your selections Japan, like many industrialized countries, is also facing a demographic crisis, with an aging population and a stubbornly low birth rate. According to the World Bank, the country has the oldest population in the world after Monaco. Mr Ishiba recently called the situation a “silent emergency”, adding that the government would promote measures to support families, such as flexible working hours. Anxious to sustainably bring the economy out of the deflation that has undermined it for decades, he also wants to stimulate income through a new recovery plan and support for local authorities and low-income households. Le Monde Application La Matinale du Monde Every morning, find our selection of 20 articles not to be missed Download the application The Constitutional Democratic Party (PDC, center-left), the main opposition party with 99 deputies, is seeking to differentiate itself from the PLD on a series of issues related to diversity, notably by committing to legalizing same-sex marriages. He also wants to allow married couples not to have the same last name, an issue that deeply divides within the PLD. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, specialist in defense issues, on the verge of becoming prime minister Add to your selections Le Monde with AFP Reuse this content
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