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Fifth time's a charm as former defense minister finally wins Japan ruling party leadership contest and will become
country’s next leaderCNN
—
Former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba will become Japan’s new prime minister after winning his party’s leadership contest on Friday, following a crowded race that ended in a runoff vote.
The 67-year-old takes control of the long-ruling, scandal-plagued Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and will assume command of the world’s fourth-largest economy once parliament convenes in October, due to his party’s majority in the lower house.
He was one of nine candidates and beat economic security minister Sanae Takaichi – who was vying to become Japan’s first woman leader – in the runoff, with 215 votes to 194. A third frontrunner who didn’t make the final cut was Shinjiro Koizumi, the US-educated, charismatic son of popular former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi.
It was Ishiba’s fifth attempt to lead the party, a conservative political machine that has ruled Japan almost continuously since the party’s founding in 1955.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/26/asia/japan-ruling-party-election-intl-hnk/index.html