Former defence minister Ishiba to be Japan’s PM

TOKYO: Japan´s next prime minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday outlined his ideas to reshape the nation´s miliary alliance with Washington, after winning the conservative ruling party´s leadership race.

The seasoned 67-year-old former defence minister beat arch-nationalist Sanae Takaichi -- who would have been the country´s first-ever woman leader -- in the final round.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has governed almost uninterrupted for decades and holds a majority, meaning Ishiba will be elected premier by parliament on Tuesday.

In a press conference on Friday, Ishiba vowed to restore confidence in the party after a funding scandal and gave a cautious run-down of his key reform pledges.

“Japan wants to fulfil our proactive responsibility and start discussions about how to build peace in this region,” he said when asked about his proposals for an Asian Nato.

It could be a expansion of several existing blocs such as the so-called Quad that groups Japan, the United States, India and Australia, he said.

Establishing a military training facility for its troops in the US, as Germany has done, could be an “extremely effective” way to strengthen the bilateral alliance and would allow Japanese forces to “train at their maximum capability”.

He said he wanted to call a snap election to shore up his mandate “as soon as possible” but declined to say when.

Ishiba had come close to the top job before, including in 2012 when he lost to nationalist Shinzo Abe, Japan´s longest-serving leader who was later assassinated.

The military model-maker with an affinity for 1970s pop idols says his experience tackling tough issues, such as agriculture reforms, makes him qualified to lead.

Recent days and weeks have seen separate incursions into Japanese airspace by Chinese and Russian military planes, as well as North Korean missile tests.

“I have worked on national security matters for a long time and I will be committed to protecting Japan´s territory,” he said.

Following the result, China´s foreign ministry spokesman said the country wants to improve ties with Japan.

“The long-term, sound and steady development of China-Japan relations serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples,” he said. South Korea´s foreign ministry said the country hopes to “maintain the positive momentum in Japan-South Korea relations”.