Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP ) of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, was elected Prime Minister. In the second round of voting in the key lower house of parliament, which has a decisive role in electing a government leader, Ishiba won more than half of the parliamentary votes, reports TASS, as quoted by Focus.
Ishiba secured the support of 221 MPs, while the chairman of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, Yoshihiko Noda, received 160 votes. A total of 381 actual votes were cast.
During the day, Ishiba will form his second government since his term began on October 1. The composition of the cabinet is expected to remain largely unchanged, except for the positions of ministers who failed to be re-elected after the October 27 election. Keisuke Suzuki will take over the Ministry of Justice and Taku Eto will head the Ministry of Agriculture. The post of Minister of State Lands, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, traditionally held by a representative of the coalition partner Komeito, is likely to be filled by Hiromasa Nakano. In the afternoon, the composition of the new government will be confirmed by Emperor Naruhito.
Ishiba's second government will be a minority government. As a result of the early elections for the lower house, the coalition between the LDP and "Comeito" lost its parliamentary majority. During the consultations before the extraordinary session of the parliament, none of the small parties expressed an intention to join the coalition. This may make it difficult to implement the LDP's political initiatives and require lengthy negotiations with the small opposition parties.