In late September of this year, the veteran conservative politician Ishiba Shigeru took the reins of government in Japan. It followed his victory in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) contest for party president, which made him ipso facto Prime Minister.
A month later, Ishiba’s team went to the polls for national elections. The LDP and its coalition partner Komeito suffered major losses but managed to stay in power as a minority government.
Then, in early November, US voters chose Donald Trump as their president. Both developments were big news in Japan, but in retrospect, the Trump victory far outweighed in significance the Japanese events. Trump’s return to the White House will add another set of complications for Japan’s subordinate alliance with the United States.
Throughout his political career, Ishiba, who was born in 1957 and first elected to the Diet in 1986, had been a faithful member of the conservative LDP-led governments that have ruled the country almost without a break since 1955. From time to time, he served in ministerial posts, including defense and agriculture. Like many conservatives, he belonged to emperor-focused Diet organizations such as Japan Conference (Nippon Kaigi) and the Shinto Politics League that could be described as “far right.”
At the same time, he was an unquestioning believer in the US alliance, absolutely committed to maintaining Japan’s position of subordination to the United States. He supported the policies of the Abe Shinzō government that held office from 2012 to 2020: doubling defense expenditure,…
Auteur: Gavan McCormack
