Japan PM Ishiba wins vote to keep power but faces Trump challenge

Lawmakers in Japan voted Monday to retain Shigeru Ishiba as prime minister despite his long-governing party’s poor showing in parliamentary elections last month.

TOKYO — Lawmakers in Japan voted Monday to retain the embattled Shigeru Ishiba as prime minister despite his long-governing party’s dismal showing in parliamentary elections last month.

Ishiba, 67, became prime minister of the key U.S. ally on Oct. 1 shortly after winning the leadership race for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan almost uninterrupted since the end of World War II. But his future in the role was in question after the party suffered its worst election defeat in more than a decade, losing support from voters angry about corruption scandals and the rising cost of living.

That left the LDP without a parliamentary majority, but Ishiba was nonetheless able to retain his hold on power and will rule with a minority government. He must now face the challenges of a weakened and unpopular governing party as well as a possible shift in approach from Washington after the victory of President-elect Donald Trump.

Ishiba, a straight-talking former defense minister, received 221 votes compared with 160 for Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party. Other candidates received a total of 84 votes.

Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy, “is faced with the most severe and complicated security environment in the postwar era,” Ishiba said Saturday at an annual troop review at a Japanese military base outside Tokyo, vowing to strengthen the country’s diplomatic efforts as well as its defense capabilities.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/japan-pm-ishiba-wins-vote-power-ldp-trump-challenge-rcna179543

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