After realising dream to lead his nation, Japan PM is fighting just to survive 2025

Shigeru Ishiba is squandering an advantage to put Japan on firmer ground.

- Walter Sim

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has dreamt of leading his country for much of his political career.

Yet, having finally beaten the odds to be elevated to the top job, he finds himself floundering at it.

His discomfiture at becoming the man of the hour has precipitated a string of unfortunate events that made him the butt of jokes and online memes, as he fights to reverse a free fall in his public approval ratings to the 30 per cent range despite taking office only on Oct 1.

Leaders all over the world are failing - look no further than the political upheavals in fellow Group of Seven democracies France and Germany, as well as Japan's neighbour South Korea.

But Mr Ishiba was meant to be different for Japan, the gadfly and outspoken outcast of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) representing a clean break from a history of cronyism, scandals, opaque politics and vested interests that he has often railed against.

He has for years topped public opinion surveys as the people's most preferred leader.

Yet, in what looks like a be-careful-what-you-wish-for moment, he is squandering his advantage to seize disenchantment by its horns and put Japan on firmer ground amid a geopolitically troubled world and despite the nascent bright spots in its economy.

His days in office have been marred by both clear miscalculations - an ill-fated Oct 27 snap election that cost his ruling LDP its parliamentary majority - and idiosyncrasies that have left political observers and social media armchair warriors aghast at how the 67-year-old seems so out of his league.

He fell asleep during his own Diet confirmation vote on Nov 11 (the official explanation blaming drowsy cold medication), and while not directly his fault, his vehicle rear-ended a police car in his motorcade on Dec 1 at a red light in Tottori, his home town which is also Japan's least-populated prefecture.