CNN —
Opinion polls began Sunday in Japan’s general election to test the capabilities of new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as he seeks voters’ support for his party, which has been mired in scandal just weeks after taking office.
Ishiba, a former defense minister, called a snap election shortly after winning the leadership election of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a conservative political organization that has ruled Japan almost continuously since its founding in 1955.
Mr. Ishiba, 67, is seeking public trust in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party by holding a general election amid declining approval ratings and public anger over the biggest political scandal in decades.
The funding scandal involves millions of dollars in undocumented political funds, with lawmakers allegedly lining their own pockets with kickbacks and failing to properly declare their income. .
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tried to limit the damage by dismissing several cabinet ministers and dissolving factions within the Liberal Democratic Party (essentially intra-party coalitions). However, in the face of calls for him to resign, he announced in August that he would not run for a second term.
His successor, Mr. Ishiba, also faces public dissatisfaction with the rising cost of living, made worse by the weak yen, economic downturn and high inflation.
The political veteran promised financial support for low-income families, raising the minimum wage and revitalizing communities, Reuters reported. He also promised a “complete break away” from Japan’s high inflation rate and vowed to achieve “real wage growth.”
Mr. Ishiba has prioritized strengthening ties between Japan and the United States, and is seeking to deepen ties with allies amid growing security challenges in Asia, including an increasingly assertive China and a belligerent North Korea. are.
The partnership with Japan has long been central to U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, and Ishiba’s predecessor, Kishida, expanded Japan’s defense cooperation with the key ally this year. According to Reuters, Ishiba is calling for a more balanced relationship, including stronger oversight of US military bases in Japan.
As Minister of Defense, Mr. Ishiba was strong on deterrence as a security issue. He once proposed an Asian version of the NATO security zone, but this idea was apparently rejected by the United States and apparently withdrawn.
In a political culture that prizes conformity, Ishiba has long been an outlier, someone willing to criticize or oppose his own party. His outspoken stance has made him a formidable enemy within the Liberal Democratic Party, but he is admired by many grassroots members and the public.
He sits on the more progressive side of the Conservative Party. His political acumen and experience in domestic and foreign policy likely helped him secure the top job.
Voters on Sunday will choose who will serve in Japan’s House of Representatives (465 members).
Each party is vying for a majority of 233 seats, but there are several other important seats they can achieve.
The so-called “absolute stable majority” of 261 seats means that the winning party or coalition has a majority of the chairs and members of all standing committees. This will allow the ruling party to govern and make policy more smoothly.
If it wins 244 seats, the party will have the same number of committee members as the opposition.
The number of seats required for a two-thirds majority to propose a constitutional amendment is 310.
Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito once again agreed to form a coalition, giving the two parties a majority in the chamber with 279 seats before it was dissolved ahead of Sunday’s election.
