Tokyo, Japan (AFP) — Japan’s incoming prime minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Monday he aimed to call snap elections for 27 October 2024 as equities plunged on a strong yen and fears that tax hikes are on the cards.
Ishiba, who was set to be formally appointed as premier on Tuesday after winning the leadership of the ruling party, supports the Bank of Japan’s drive to hike interest rates and has said “there is room” to raise corporate levies.
The leadership contest for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed almost uninterrupted for decades, went down to the wire on Friday, with right-winger Sanae Takaichi tipped to win when markets closed.
With Takaichi a fan of former prime minister Shinzo Abe’s unorthodox “Abenomics” economic policies of ultra-low interest rates and tax cuts, the prospect of her winning sent stocks higher and the yen lower.
Takaichi, an arch nationalist, would also have been the first woman prime minister in a country where men still dominate politics and business.
Ishiba is a fierce critic of Abe and his last-gasp victory — on his fifth attempt — sent the yen soaring to around 142 per dollar from around 146.50. Investors dumped stocks on Monday, with exporters among the worst hit.