Economics

Japan’s ‘Oddball’ Leader Ishiba Wants to Boost Military, Beat Deflation

He’s a political moderate who is popular with the public
The next premier describes himself as a defense nerd

Shigeru Ishiba at the party leader’s office in Tokyo on Sept. 27.Photographer: Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters/Bloomberg

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By Yoshiaki Nohara, Alastair Gale, and Toru Fujioka

September 27, 2024 at 12:30 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Japan’s next Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is a self-proclaimed policy wonk on defense matters whose friends consider him to be an “oddball.”

His surprise win at the fifth attempt to become leader of Japan’s ruling party hands the reins of power to a political moderate who is popular with the public and wants to tackle rural economic decline without resorting to radical reform.