Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s short-term focus is on tackling the plight of households struggling with high prices as he tries to recruit voters ahead of the general election later this month.
Ishiba, who was named Japan’s new leader on Tuesday, is also looking to calm financial markets by signaling his willingness to spend flexibly after concerns that he would adopt austere fiscal policies caused a stock market decline that also called the ‘Ishiba shock’.
The new prime minister said at an opening press conference that he plans to dissolve the House of Representatives on October 9 for elections on October 27.
