New Japanese Prime Minister wants to call early legislative elections on October 27

Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who will officially take office on Tuesday, announced on Monday September 30 that he intended to call early legislative elections on October 27. “I think it is important that the new government be judged by the people as soon as possible and, if the conditions are right“, declared the head of government during a press briefing. “I am aware that it is quite unusual for someone who is not (yet) Prime Minister to make these kinds of statements… but I do not think it is inappropriate”he added.

This former defense minister was elected Friday leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), the ruling party which has governed almost without interruption for decades. He had already declared that he wanted to call early elections to consolidate his mandate “as soon as possible”, without further details. Shigeru Ishiba succeeds Fumio Kishida as Prime Minister, who gave up running for a new term this summer. The latter, aged 67 and in office since October 2021, saw his popularity undermined by inflation and by political-financial scandals which shook the PLD.