Ishiba, a longtime politician for the post-Kishida era

Former defense minister, 67, in the Japan Liberal Democratic Party primary election beat Sanae Takaichi, the candidate closest to Shinzo Abe's legacy, in the runoff. He will be sworn in as premier on October 1 and will be called upon to lift support for the political force since the postwar period that has been a major player on the Japanese political scene. But on the horizon already looms an election clash with Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the opposition.

Tokyo (AsiaNews) - Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, 67, has won the Liberal Democratic Party's primary election in Japan, defeating Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who aspired to become Japan's first woman prime minister, in a runoff.

The vote is in fact intended to designate the successor to Fumio Kishida, who - in a consensus crisis - had announced last month his intention to step aside. Ishiba is expected to form the new government at an extraordinary session of the Diet, which is already convened for Oct. 1. Immediately after that, it is given as likely to take the country into early elections, perhaps as early as the end of the year.

There were as many as nine candidates for the leadership of the party that has almost uninterruptedly dominated Japan's political scene since the postwar period.

An unusually high number, also linked to the dissolution of powerful currents decided after scandals over their funding. Also among those excluded from the ballot is young Shinjiro Koizumi, 43, son of former Prime Minister Junichirō Koizumi. In contrast, Ishiba is a longtime politician, coming to the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party after being defeated four times in the past in the leadership race in primary elections.

This time he prevailed narrowly, garnering 215 votes to Takaichi's 194, a member of the conservative wing that remains most closely tied to the legacy of Shinzo Abe, the former premier assassinated in 2022. A Tokyo native who is also the son of a former interior minister, Ishiba is known as an experienced politician on defense and regional revitalization issues, popular among local supporters but not so popular among party MPs.

To him will now fall the challenge of renewing a political force weakened by slush fund scandals and restoring voter confidence ahead of the not-too-distant general election, in which he will clash with Yoshihiko Noda, the opposition figure who briefly led the country's government in 2011 and whom the Constitutional Democratic Party again chose as its leader in its primary election held this same week.

A confrontation looms on the horizon in a Japan where economic growth remains uncertain, with household costs continuing to rise. And in an international context where strained relations with China, North Korea and Russia continue to pose a threat to Japan's security.