Japan's former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba was set on Friday
to become the country's new leader after winning a run
off vote in his fifth and final attempt to head
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The 67 year old
said he wanted to clean up his ruling party,
see off security threats and revitalize the economy. We
need to fundamentally exit a deflationary spiral. Personal consumption
accounts for about 54% of our GDP. If personal
consumption doesn't increase, the economy will not get better
and we cannot resolve the deflationary spiral. He said
he wants to beef up the country's security, citing
recent incursions from Russia and China into Japan's territory and
North Korea's repeated missile tests. Ishiba said he intends
to hold a general election at an early date without
giving specifics on a vote but it must be called
in the next 13 months. A self proclaimed lone
wolf as Sheba's contrary views and spats with colleagues contributed
to four previous failed leadership bids but he has long
been popular with the general public. Analysts say personal
grievances may have been put aside to harness that public
opinion. The scramble to replace current Premier Fumio Kishida
was sparked in August when he announced his intention to
step down over a series of scandals that plunged the
LDPS ratings to record lows. The leader of the
LDP which has ruled Japan for almost all of the
post war era is essentially assured of becoming the next
premier because of its majority in parliament. Ishiba said
he will form a government on Tuesday after a special
session of parliament vote him into office.