Japan’s new PM faces major test with an election just weeks after taking office

CNN —

Polls opened Sunday in Japan’s general election, in a test for new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as he seeks voter support for his scandal-hit party just weeks after taking the role.

Ishiba, the former defense minister, called a snap election immediately after winning the leadership contest of his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a conservative political machine that has ruled Japan almost continuously since the party’s founding in 1955.

By calling an election, Ishiba, 67, is seeking a public mandate for the ruling LDP amid falling approval ratings and public anger over one of the country’s biggest political scandals in decades.

The funding scandal involved millions of dollars in undocumented political funds, and lawmakers allegedly lining their own pockets with kickbacks or failing to properly declare their income.

Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida tried to contain the damage by replacing several cabinet ministers and dissolving LDP factions, essentially coalitions within the party. But he faced calls to resign and announced in August that he would not run for a second term.

His successor, Ishiba, also faces public discontent over increasing living costs, which have been exacerbated by the weak yen, a sluggish economy and high inflation.

The political veteran has pledged financial help to low-income households, a higher minimum wage, and regional revitalization, according to Reuters. He has also promised a “full exit” from Japan’s high inflation rates, vowing to achieve “growth in real wages.”

Ishiba has made strengthening Japan’s relations with the United States a priority and seeks deeper ties with allies amid growing security challenges in Asia, including an increasingly assertive China and belligerent