Shigeru Ishiba secures position as Japan's 102nd Prime Minister

Shigeru Ishiba, the chairman of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has been elected as the country's 102nd prime minister by parliament. The majority of deputies voted in his favour.

In the critical lower house, Ishiba secured 291 out of 465 votes, while Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, received 100 votes, Caliber.Az reports citing foreign media sources.

Voting for Ishiba's candidacy is concurrently underway in the upper house, where the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito Party holds a majority. However, the decision made by the lower house takes precedence.

Ishiba is expected to form his government within the next few hours. Local media reports suggest that cabinet secretary-general Yoshimasa Hayashi, who was Ishiba's rival in the LDP leadership election, as well as Tetsuo Saito, Minister of State for Lands, Infrastructure, and Transport representing Komeito, will retain their positions. Gen Nakatani, who previously served as defence minister from 2014 to 2016 under the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is anticipated to return as the defence chief, while Takeshi Iwaya, another former defence minister, is expected to take on the role of foreign minister.

The new government’s composition will be approved by Emperor Naruhito later in the afternoon, on October 1.

By Tamilla Hasanova