Shigeru Ishiba likes the nitty-gritty of policy and geeky pursuit of making military models, but his dream job as Japanese prime minister crumbled Sunday.
Ishiba said he had decided to step down, following calls for him to take responsibility for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s poor performance in upper house elections in July.
The 68-year-old self-confessed defence “geek” has been at the party’s helm for less than a year — a job he only won on his fifth try.
Ishiba said he would “step aside and make way for the next generation”, after members of his LDP had pushed for his resignation and a fresh leadership election.
It was a rapid and brutal fall for Ishiba, the son of a regional governor and member of Japan’s small Christian minority.
His resignation, though, will also be unwelcome turbulence for his party, which has governed Japan almost continuously since 1955.
Seen as a safe pair of hands, he won the party leadership in September 2024 to become the 10th LDP man to serve as prime minister since 2000.
Ishiba had pledged to “create a new Japan” and revitalise depressed rural regions, and address the “quiet emergency” of Japan’s shrinking population.
He immediately called lower house elections for October 2024 but that backfired spectacularly, with the LDP suffering its worst result in 15 years.
That performance robbed the LDP and its coalition party Komeito of their majority, forcing them to bargain with opposition parties to pass legislation.
Then came the July vote that cost him the majority in the upper house, a result that fuelled resignation speculation.
His government’s popularity ratings plummeted during its short tenure, with voters angry about price rises, especially for rice that is twice as expensive as a year ago.
– Clumsy ways –
Ishiba, the father of two daughters, also appointed only two women to his cabinet, down from five under predecessor Fumio Kishida.
Ishiba’s sometimes clumsy ways — ranging from the less-than-perfectly tidy arrangement of his tuxedo to his table manners — have also been rich fodder for social media memes.
He drew ridicule after being snapped apparently napping in parliament and for failing to stand up to greet other world leaders at a gathering in South America.
A video also emerged of Ishiba eating an onigiri rice ball — a popular snack — whole and munching on it without closing his mouth.
“He eats like a three-year-old,” wrote one user on social media platform X.
– Lower auto tariffs –
A major challenge has been dealing with US President Donald Trump, who has imposed painful tariffs on Japanese cars, steel and aluminium.
One bright spot was Trump’s signing an order Thursday to lower tariffs on Japanese autos to 15 percent instead of 27.5 percent.
The outcome marked a win for Japan, though it came weeks after the two countries initially unveiled a trade pact in late July and then appeared to diverge on its details.
Ishiba secured an early invitation to the White House in February and sent his tariffs envoy to Washington repeatedly.
During the US leader’s first term Shinzo Abe fared better as Japan’s then premier, managing to shield Tokyo from any tariffs and being dubbed a “Trump whisperer”.
Abe, who was assassinated in 2022, gifted Trump a gold-coloured golf club and was a frequent guest of the US president.
According to Trump, Abe even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. “There will never be another like him,” he said after Abe’s death.
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