As part of his efforts to unify his Cabinet and address party divisions ahead of an Oct. 27 snap election, Shigeru Ishiba was scheduled to be chosen by parliament on Tuesday ( October 1 ) to be elected as Japan’s next prime minister.
The 67-year-old former defence minister, who won a close-fought contest to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP ) last week, is virtually assured of being formerly designated premier due to his party’s majority in parliament.
The king fully appointing Ishiba and his Cabinet in a ceremony held at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace is expected to announce the results of the vote at around 1.40pm local period. A later press conference is also expected to be held by Ishiba on Tuesday.
The former senator has already begun selecting state and gathering officials who will compete with him in the approaching general election. He is perceived as somewhat of an outsider in his party after failing at four past leadership bids.
According to two sources with knowledge of the appointments, both candidates for the position of chief cabinet secretary, Yoshimasa Hayashi and Katsunobu Kato, have been running for the position of top state official.
A nearby Ishiba alliance, Takeshi Iwaya, a former army captain, will take over as foreign secretary, while Gen Nakatani will return to the military government, a position he held in 2016, said the options, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak formally, confirming earlier media reports.
Yoji Muto, a former young minister, will taking charge of the business, trade and industry department, a separate source said.
Given that he held important positions in the former leading Shinzo Abe’s management, which pursued expansionary fiscal and monetary guidelines, Kato’s visit to the finance ministry will be carefully watched.