internal critic of his party

On 27 September 2024, Shigeru Ishiba, a staunch internal critic of his party, overturned expectations to become the 102nd Prime Minister of Japan. A perennial ‘outsider’ long considered unelectable, Ishiba comes to the office of Prime Minister with a set of views that mix nuance with outlandishness, especially in the field of defence and foreign policy. At the same time, his domestic challenges, including the rebuilding of public trust after a slush-fund scandal ufabet