New PM also vows to seek 'constructive and stable' ties with China in policy speech

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers his first policy speech at the Diet in Tokyo on Oct. 4. (Photo by Uichiro Kasai)

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Friday promised to strengthen Japan's defenses amid rising regional and global threats, including from China, while also vowing to work for mutually beneficial ties with the regional giant.

The veteran politician addressed lawmakers in his first policy speech to the lower house of parliament since taking office on Tuesday. His election as prime minister by the Diet came after he was chosen as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in a vote a week ago.

Ishiba, a former defense minister, described a world beset by challenges requiring Japan to bolster its defense capabilities in tandem with the pursuit of enhanced diplomacy.

"Today's Ukraine may be tomorrow's East Asia," he said. "Japan is facing its most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II," citing violations of the country's airspace by China and Russia as well as North Korea's escalating missile development.

"There is no doubt that we should fundamentally strengthen Japan's defense capabilities," he said.

Among key issues the country faces, he mentioned China, saying it is "day by day strengthening its attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the East and South China seas." He also lamented the recent killing of a Japanese child in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen.

Going forward, Ishiba vowed to demand "responsible action" from Beijing while also pursuing a mutually beneficial strategic relationship with increasing communication at all levels and cooperation in areas of mutual concern for "constructive and stable relations."

Ishiba's remarks come after Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday sent a congratulatory message, expressing his desire to "work hard to build constructive and stable China-Japan relations that meet the demands of the new era," according to a statement released by China's Foreign Ministry. Premier Li Qiang also sent congratulations, urging strengthened friendship and cooperation.

Japan's new leader did not mention Xi's comments in his speech, but Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi welcomed them on Wednesday "as a positive message."

China's claims to the Japan-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea and naval patrols in the area, which Tokyo says violate its territory, have been ratcheting up tensions for more than a decade. Beijing has also detained a number of Japanese citizens since a 2014 counter-espionage law went into effect and some remain in custody. More recently, Japan scrambled fighter jets after a Chinese military surveillance plane violated its airspace in August for the first time.

Ishiba also said Japan's alliance with the U.S. will remain the basis for its diplomacy and security, but he made no mention of his desire to achieve changes to the agreement that governs the stationing of American forces in the country, nor of jointly operating U.S. bases in Japan, something he had frequently mentioned when campaigning for the post of LDP president. He also did not refer to the need for an Asian version of NATO, another pet proposal.

He has said he will dissolve the lower house of the Diet next week and call an election for Oct. 27. With an eye on that, he used his speech to apologize for a recent LDP political fundraising scandal that he acknowledged had caused distrust in politics.

"We will regain the people's trust," he declared. "We will realize politics for the people, not for politicians. We will face each lawmaker [who failed to report political funds], ask them to reflect on [that] and do our best to establish a sense of ethics that adheres to the rules."

Coming off a hard fought party election that saw a record nine candidates seek the LDP's top job, Ishiba faces a big task in bringing the party together to fend off opposition parties that plan to campaign by targeting the LDP over the funds scandal. Illustrative of this challenge, his cabinet approval rating came to 51% in a Nikkei-TV Tokyo poll, the lowest inaugural rating going back to 2002. Parts of his speech were met by heckling from opposition lawmakers.

In his speech, Ishiba also described his economic policies, including the need to ensure that decades of deflationary pressures are defeated. He touched on the need to tackle social issues such as the country's declining birthrate and falling population. He also discussed the need to shore up prevention, readiness and response to natural disasters.

"We need to support people suffering from high prices right now until a virtuous growth cycle is established in which wage increases outpace price rises and encourage capital expenditures," Ishiba said. Earlier Friday, he instructed cabinet ministers to formulate an economic package, including direct payments to people with low incomes, to tackle rising prices and boost wages to spur growth.

Before the dissolution of the lower house on Wednesday, Ishiba is scheduled to answer questions from representatives of other political parties in response to the policy speech, which he also delivered separately to the upper house. After the lower house is dissolved, the election is set to be announced on Oct. 15. That will be followed by about 12 days of campaigning before voting and ballot counting on Oct. 27.

TAMAYO MUTO, Nikkei staff writer