TOKYO (Kyodo) — Shigeru Ishiba, who is set to become the next Japanese prime minister, pledged Friday to implement measures to accelerate real wage growth and boost consumer spending, as price hikes and a declining birthrate are expected to hamper the broader economy.

Hours after being elected Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s successor as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Ishiba said at a press conference that he will consider effective ways to ease the burden on households amid the rising cost of living.

Ishiba will become Japan’s top political leader with prices on an upward trend across the board due largely to the yen’s sharp depreciation, which has driven up the cost of imports. Japan highly depends on imports for its energy and food needs.

As for the falling birthrate, Ishiba said, “Reversing the population drop will not be easy. The core issue is the decreasing number of mothers. We will shine a spotlight on people who want to get married but face difficulties.”

Ishiba, who served as the country’s first regional revitalization minister, also emphasized the necessity of decentralizing power from Tokyo, saying, “We will work hard to protect local areas to further develop” the capital and regions.

Later in the day, Ishiba instructed the ruling party to compile a supplementary budget for fiscal 2024 through March next year to fund an economic stimulus package aimed at mitigating the negative impact of higher prices, a source close to him said.