In a vote to replace Fumio Kishia as head of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), party members have elected Shigeru Ishiba as their new leader. Given the LDP’s majority in parliament, the party leader will become prime minister by default.
Ishiba, aged 67, joined the parliament in 1986 and held key cabinet posts throughout his career, including director of then Defence Agency (now Ministry of Defence).
Amid growing public opposition to the LDP, in 1993 he left the party, only to return four years later. The move cost him the trust of many of his LDP colleagues, many of whom still consider him a traitor.
