President Lai congratulates Ishiba on becoming Japan's PM

Taipei, Nov. 12 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) sent his congratulations to Shigeru Ishiba on Tuesday following the latter's victory in Japan's prime ministerial re-election the previous day.

"I sincerely congratulate the Prime Minister on his re-election. Taiwan-Japan relations have consistently been close and friendly. We look forward to working hand in hand with Japan's new administration to further deepen our bilateral ties," Lai wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Together, let us uphold the values of democracy and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region."

This is Lai's second congratulatory message to the leader of Japan's long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the past 45 days, a period that saw drastic changes in Japan's House of Representatives.

Lai previously offered similar congratulations to Ishiba on Oct. 1, days following the 67-year-old former defense and agricultural minister's victory in the LDP leadership race on his fifth attempt, in which he defeated eight other candidates.

The LDP leadership election was held to fill the vacancy left by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who announced in August that he would not seek re-election as head of his party after three years in office amid low public support due to fundraising scandals that surfaced in November 2023.

A June survey by Asahi Shimbun showed the LDP had a record-low approval rating of 19 percent.

Seeking to restore public confidence in his party, Ishiba dissolved the lower house of parliament on Oct. 9 -- eight days after taking office -- and a snap election was set for Oct. 27, marking the shortest interval between an inauguration and a dissolution of parliament in Japan since World War II.

However, this move nearly cost him his position, as the LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, failed to secure a majority in the 465-seat lower house, with their combined seats falling from 279 to 215.

In a special session of the Diet on Monday, both the upper and lower houses re-elected Ishiba as prime minister.

Ishiba won easily in the upper house, where the LDP and Komeito have a majority. In the second round of votes in the lower house, he defeated Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, 221-160, after no candidate secured a majority in the initial vote.

Ishiba announced his new Cabinet later that day, retaining all but three ministers: the heads of the agriculture, justice, and transport and tourism ministries.

In August, Ishiba led a group of six cross-party Japanese lawmakers on a visit to Taiwan focusing on security issues. During the trip, he emphasized that "only by the democratic community standing shoulder to shoulder to demonstrate the strength of deterrence" can the region maintain peace and stability.