Experts say Ishiba is likely to stay the course on diplomacy

Japan's next prime minister Shigeru Ishiba spooked observers during the hustings in his bid to succeed Mr Fumio Kishida, with out-of-the-box ideas like the creation of an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) military alliance.

- Walter Sim

But analysts believe the 67-year-old defence wonk, who was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Sept 27 and will be sworn in by the Diet as prime minister on Oct 1, will tread the same course as his predecessor and avoid rocking the boat too aggressively.

Indeed, Mr Ishiba, a former defence minister, hinted that he was prepared to tone down his approach in a post-victory news conference, saying that "there is plenty of room for other options".

He told reporters that the idea of an Asian version of Nato - the alliance comprising 30 European countries, Canada and the United States - was to ensure collective security at a time when US influence and presence in the region cannot be taken for granted.

"Japan is facing many security issues and our priority must be to protect our people," he said, adding that his goal was to reinforce existing and overlapping defence partnerships and treaties in the region.

His idea of an Asian Nato has been roundly criticised as "unrealistic" by fellow candidates on the campaign trail and, reportedly, as a "fantasy" and "not what we're looking for" by American officials.

Mr Ishiba has also said that he would pursue a review of the Status Of Forces Agreement (Sofa) that covers US troops stationed in Japan, following a spate of violent crimes by US personnel in Okinawa. Another suggestion of his was to set up training bases for Japan's Self-Defence Forces on US soil.