Japan's new PM forced to ditch idealism as reality bites

Weak party ties, narrow support base are factors that may force him to tread the middle ground

- Walter Sim

TOKYO - Japan's newly minted Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, once a gadfly described as an "opposition" even within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) for his criticisms of the late former prime minister Shinzo Abe, promised to mend fences across faction lines after a bruising party leadership contest.

But observers said his picks for the Cabinet and party leadership positions exposed his weakness within the party, tellingly with the inclusion of a man who once labelled Mr Abe a "traitor" and boycotted his state funeral.

Mr Ishiba's policy positions that had once been laden with ideals, meanwhile, will likely be watered down if his remarks since being elected as LDP chief on Sept 27 are anything to go by.

Among other things, he had advocated for an Asian version of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation military alliance, the reduced reliance on nuclear power, and the implementation of a gender quota system.

Now, he has even backed down from his clear antipathy towards a snap election, calling for one on Oct 27.

All this has resulted in negative media coverage for a prime minister who is only on Day Two of the job.

Bloomberg News snarkily pointed out in a column that Mr Ishiba has "barely the concept of a plan", borrowing a phrase used by Donald Trump in the United States presidential race for which he has been mocked. The writer said: "Nailing down what Ishiba wants Japan to look like is more like nailing jelly to a wall."

Domestic media was also unkind.

The left-leaning Asahi newspaper said Mr Ishiba's "glaring inconsistency between his words and deeds has cost (him) dearly - he has lost the trust of the public, which was his most important asset".

The usually pro-government Yomiuri newspaper warned of the clear risk that "the Ishiba administration will fall apart" if he fails to achieve harmony within the LDP.