Japan's Shigeru Ishiba Cabinet resigns, but here's why he may become PM again by afternoon

In Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Cabinet resigned on Monday en masse before the Diet, or parliament during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting in the morning.

Ishiba’s Cabinet resigned just little over a month of formation,

By the afternoon, Ishiba, a leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is expected to be elected as Japan’s Prime Minister once again after a runoff vote in the lower house against Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP)

However, as per reports, Ishiba, 67, is unlikely to win outright in the vote at the House of Representatives after the coalition of LDP and Komeito failed to secure a majority in the October 27 general election for the lower house.

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Despite losing the majority, LDP and Komeito remain the largest bloc in parliament’s powerful lower house. Therefore, it is expected that Ishiba will once again become Japan’s PM by Monday afternoon.

Also, what works in Ishiba’s favour is the deep divide among Japan’s opposition parties over several key issues.

As per reports, opposition forces have also failed to unite for the selection of the new prime minister.

It is, therefore, expected that Ishiba will lead a minority government from Monday when lawmakers convene for a special four-day session to nominate the prime minister.

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By Monday night, Ishiba is expected to launch his new Cabinet which is likely to have fresh faces and include Keisuke Suzuki as justice minister, Taku Eto as agriculture minister and Komeito’s Hiromasa Nakano as land minister.

Other posts are expected to be filled by those from Ishiba’s first cabinet.

Ishiba assumed office in early October and called a snap election which he hoped would shore up his mandate as leader of the ruling LDP.

Instead, voters unhappy with inflation and a slush fund scandal that helped sink his predecessor Fumio Kishida delivered the party its worst result since 2009, which could cause political gridlock in a hung parliament.

With inputs from agencies.