Despite His Hearty Laugh, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba Faces Thorny Path After APEC Summit

The reason for his “big smile”

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (67) flashes a smile, which is sometimes described as “cute” by a small subset of fans. The photo captures a moment from November 14, when the special session of the National Diet ended after a four-day meeting. Ishiba is seen chatting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi (63) and Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato (68) during the plenary session.

The following day, November 15, Ishiba attended the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) Summit in Lima, Peru. It could be that his smile was a brief escape from the intense atmosphere of the National Diet, imagining a respite from the pressure.

According to journalist Tetsuo Suzuki, who occasionally speaks with Prime Minister Ishiba by phone,

“The only time Ishiba was able to smile like that was during the few days after he became president of the Liberal Democratic Party.”

Although Ishiba finally achieved his long-sought goal of becoming Prime Minister and LDP President on his fifth attempt, he faced a crushing defeat in the early election he called, going against his own principles. The LDP was reduced to a minority ruling party, with former National Diet Chairman Jun Azumi (62) and former Democratic Party leader Yukio Edano (60) taking prominent leadership positions in various committees. Twelve committee and chair positions were seized by the opposition.

The extraordinary Diet session summoned on November 28 will begin deliberations on the supplementary budget for fiscal 2024. Ishiba will need to manage the Diet while considering opposition opinions, which will likely lead to pressure on the issue of “politics and money.” If the opposition parties unite to pass a no-confidence motion against the cabinet, Ishiba will face the choice of either dissolving the Diet or resigning.