LDP LEADER: Shigeru Ishiba promised to restore confidence in the party after a funding scandal and gave a cautious run-down of his reform plans

AFP, TOKYO

Japan’s next prime minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday outlined his ideas to reshape the nation’s military alliance with Washington, after winning the conservative ruling party’s leadership race.

The seasoned 67-year-old former defense minister beat arch-nationalist Sanae Takaichi — who could have been the nation’s first-ever female leader — in the final round.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has governed almost uninterrupted for decades and holds a majority, meaning Ishiba would be elected premier by parliament on Tuesday.

Newly elected Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba sits in the party leader’s office in Tokyo yesterday.

Photo: Reuters

At a press conference yesterday, Ishiba vowed to restore confidence in the party after a funding scandal and gave a cautious run-down of his key reform pledges.

“Japan wants to fulfil our proactive responsibility and start discussions about how to build peace in this region,” he said when asked about his proposals for an Asian NATO.

It could be a expansion of several existing blocs, such as the so-called Quad that groups Japan, the US, India and Australia, he said.

Establishing a military training facility for its troops in the US, as Germany has done, could be an “extremely effective” way to strengthen the bilateral alliance and would allow Japanese forces to “train at their maximum capability,” he said.

He said he wanted to call a snap election to shore up his mandate “as soon as possible,” but declined to say when.

The military model-maker with an affinity for 1970s pop idols says his experience tackling tough issues, such as agriculture reforms, makes him qualified to lead.

Recent days and weeks have seen separate incursions into Japanese airspace by Chinese and Russian military planes, as well as North Korean missile tests.

“I have worked on national security matters for a long time and I will be committed to protecting Japan’s territory,” he said.

In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a statement congratulating Ishiba on winning the key party election.

MOFA expressed the hope that the LDP would continue to deepen cooperation with Taiwan under Ishiba’s leadership, and further enhance bilateral ties and jointly contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

The LDP has long maintained close relations with Taiwan, and many of its Diet members, including Ishiba, have staunchly supported exchanges and collaborations between Taiwan and Japan in various fields, MOFA said.

Ishiba led a cross-party delegation to Taiwan in August to discuss security issues with President William Lai (賴清德) and top Taiwanese officials, it said.

Lai, who concurrently serves as chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party, and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) also offered their congratulations to Ishiba in separate statements.

Additional reporting by CNA