Shigeru Ishiba

Shigeru Ishiba (born February 4, 1957, Tokyo, Japan) is a Japanese politician who serves as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and prime minister of Japan (2024– ). He has held key ministerial roles throughout his career. He initially focused on agriculture and then spent many years working primarily on defense and security, becoming known for advocating a NATO-style Asian military alliance. More recently, he has worked on countryside revitalization, addressing rural issues and Japan’s declining population.

A frequent critic of Shinzo Abe’s administration, Ishiba argued that its policies worsened inequality and eroded public trust. His alignment with the interests of average citizens has led some to describe him as a populist. Although generally considered a conservative—evidenced by his 2024 book Conservative Politician—he is known for his relatively progressive positions on social issues, having advocated for women’s empowerment and expressed support for same-sex marriage. In addition, he has criticized previous administrations for failing to fully confront Japan’s imperialist history.

Early life and education

Ishiba was born in Tokyo in 1957 but moved to Tottori prefecture in 1958 when his father, Jiro Ishiba, became governor of the region. His father later served as minister of home affairs under Prime Minister Suzuki Zenko. Ishiba’s mother was a Japanese language teacher.

Ishiba attended elementary and junior high school in Tottori prefecture before moving to the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area to attend Keio Senior High School. He then studied law at Keio University in central Tokyo and graduated in 1979. Afterward he worked at Mitsui Bank (now Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.) for about four years. He married Yoshiko Ishiba in 1983; they have two daughters.

Political career

After Jiro Ishiba’s death in 1981, Tanaka Kakuei, a close associate of the elder Ishiba, encouraged Shigeru Ishiba to enter politics. In 1986 Ishiba was elected to the lower house of the Diet (parliament). Tanaka, who served as prime minister of Japan from 1972 to 1974, is considered Ishiba’s primary political mentor. He is remembered as the “commoner’s prime minister” for his advocacy on behalf of ordinary Japanese citizens and for normalizing diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China through the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communiqué with Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai.

From 1992 to 2009 Ishiba held various ministerial positions in agriculture and defense, steadily rising in seniority. He left the LDP in 1993 but rejoined in 1997. In 2009 he became chairman of the LDP’s policy research council, a prominent position within the party. In 2012 he ran for LDP president—a role that is typically a precursor to becoming prime minister—but was defeated by Shinzo Abe. Abe then appointed Ishiba as LDP secretary-general, a position he held until 2014. That year Ishiba became minister for regional revitalization and national strategic zones.

After 2012 Ishiba developed a reputation as an opponent of the Abe administration. In 2015, despite his previous opposition to LDP factionalism, Ishiba formed his own faction, called Suigetsukai. However, the faction struggled to maintain unity and make political gains, seemingly because of Ishiba’s uninterest in the socializing and networking necessary to develop political support. In 2021 Suigetsukai downgraded itself to an informal “group.” Because of his public criticism of the LDP’s leadership, his uninterest in political networking, and his history of having left the LDP in the 1990s, Ishiba came to be widely perceived as a maverick, described by the Japan Times as “the LDP’s consummate outsider, a dissident who has spent his career refusing to acquiesce to orthodoxy.”

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Ishiba left the cabinet in 2016, though he continued to serve in the Diet. He ran for president of the LDP in 2018 and in 2020 after the resignation of Abe. He lost both times and endorsed Taro Kono in the 2021 election.

Ishiba as prime minister

In August 2024 Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that he would not seek reelection as LDP president. His decision followed declining approval ratings and scandals that damaged the party’s public perception. This created an opportunity for a change in political leadership, leading to an election with three main contenders: Ishiba, Sanae Takaichi, and Shinjiro Koizumi. Ishiba was a political outsider, Takaichi was an ultraconservative who could have been the LDP’s first female president, and Koizumi (the son of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi) was known for his youth and progressive views. Thus, all three represented new directions for the party.

Ishiba defeated Takaichi, the establishment favorite, in a second-round runoff on September 27, 2024. Following his victory, the Japanese stock market dropped amid concerns about Ishiba’s support of increasing interest rates and taxes on the wealthy. Ishiba began forming his cabinet and announced a snap election for October 27 to secure a public mandate and solidify his leadership. As prime minister, Ishiba faces complex challenges, including Japan’s population decline and public disillusionment with the government. On the international stage, he must navigate heightened tensions in Asia, due largely to China’s assertive posturing and a nuclear-armed North Korea.