Shigeru Ishiba Survives as Japan’s Prime Minister After Defeating Opposition Leader

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will continue in the role after he fought off a challenge from the opposition and won a vote in parliament. A special session of the Diet met on Monday to pick a new prime minister in a vote required within 30 days of a general election. Ishiba, 67, eventually beat opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda by 221 votes to 160 in the first run-off in 30 years. Last month, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost its majority after suffering one of its worst-ever election results. Ishiba was selected as the LDP’s new leader in September, after Fumio Kishida stepped down following a series of corruption scandals that saw support for the party drop below 20 percent....