Former Defense Minister Ishiba Elected Japan’s Ruling Party Leader

Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba won Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) presidential election on Friday in a runoff vote, defeating economic security minister Sanae Takaichi to become Japan's next prime minister. Ishiba, 67, won 215 runoff votes against Takaichi's 194. He is expected to select new LDP executives on Monday and form his Cabinet after being elected prime minister at an extraordinary Diet session on Tuesday. The runoff vote was held after none of the record nine contenders secured a majority of the 735 votes cast by LDP lawmakers and rank-and-file members in the first round. Source: Qatar News Agency