Shigeru Ishiba was formally reelected as Japan’s prime minister on Monday after a rare runoff vote in parliament that his ruling coalition no longer controls, setting the stage for a minority government that may push him to yield more to an emboldened opposition bloc.

The first runoff vote in three decades to select a new prime minister saw Ishiba, who heads the Liberal Democratic Party, defeat his rival Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, at the opening of a four- day parliamentary session.

While the outcome was widely expected, it still points to the struggles that the scandal-hit ruling coalition may face in passing budget plans and legislation after it lost its long-held majority control of the 465-member House of Representatives in an election on Oct .27.

The reelection of Ishiba, who took office only about a month ago, puts an immediate focus on how much the ruling camp will take heed of opposition calls for more drastic political reforms and reducing income tax burdens for households.

“The current political situation may be good for democracy in a sense,” Ishiba told a press conference at his office, as he stressed the need for various parties that represent diverse views to squarely discuss policies.

“Building on our cooperation between the LDP and (the coalition partner) Komeito party, I will strive to obtain support from as many other parties as possible to protect the safety and security of the people in a careful and humble manner,” he said.

In the second round of voting that came after none of the candidates gained majority support in the initial vote in the powerful lower house, Ishiba was declared the winner with 221 votes, surpassing 160 for Noda and 84 that were deemed invalid. He also won reelection in the coalition-controlled House of Councillors.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks at a press conference at the premier’s office in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2024. (Kyodo)

Faced with myriad challenges, from the rising cost of living to security threats from China, North Korea and Russia, the 67-year-old Ishiba made only small changes to the lineup of his Cabinet and retained the rest, including foreign, defense and finance chiefs.

In a stark reminder of the ruling parties’ weakening grip on parliament, an opposition member will chair the powerful budget committee of the lower house for the first time in three decades. Diet deliberations may require more time and concessions from the ruling bloc.

The CDPJ has an increased presence in the lower chamber, and the same goes for the opposition Democratic Party for the People, which has been courted by both sides of the aisle, with its seats quadrupling from before the election.

To smooth the way for a stable government, the ruling coalition has signaled its willingness to work with the DPP and coordinate their policies.

The smaller but influential DPP has become a target of courting by both the ruling bloc and the opposition CDPJ, as they appear warming to the DPP’s idea of ​​raising the 1.03 million yen ($6,700) income ceiling for tax payments, thereby boosting people’s incomes.

But a layer of uncertainty loomed over the DPP and the outcome of the vote at the last minute after a magazine report exposed its leader Yuichiro Tamaki’s extramarital affair, though his party members agreed that he should stay on.

The opposition camp is expected to tighten the screws on Ishiba, taking aim at the LDP’s loose handling of political funds, an issue that costs some LDP members their official endorsements and eroded public trust in politics.

During the press conference, Ishiba stressed the need to make the flow and use of political funds “crystal clear” in the eyes of the public and vowed to take necessary legislative steps before the end of the year.

“We need to come up with additional ways to exponentially boost the transparency of political funds,” he said.

The CDPJ and the DPP are calling for a legal revision to make the flow of political funds more transparent and for the establishment of a third-party panel to impose checks.

More Diet panels are led by opposition members than before the lower house election, raising the bar for Ishiba in seeking parliamentary approval.

The government plans to compile a package of economic measures intended to mitigate the negative fallout of rising prices by providing cash handouts to low-income earners and lowering energy prices through subsidies.

A supplementary budget for the current fiscal year to next March will be needed to finance the package.

In the second Cabinet in about a month, former senior vice foreign minister Keisuke Suzuki was named the new justice minister, and Taku Eto will serve again as farm minister. Both took over from their predecessors who lost their parliamentary seats. Hiromasa Nakano, a Komeito lawmaker, took the post of land minister in place of Tetsuo Saito, who became the party’s chief.

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