Lower House picks Ishiba as new PM, as Cabinet set to be unveiled

Shigeru Ishiba was chosen by the powerful Lower House to be Japan’s new leader on Tuesday. But he will get no honeymoon period, as he looks to unite a divided Liberal Democratic Party in advance of an Oct. 27 general election amid internal strife over his looming Cabinet picks and party leadership appointees.

Ishiba was set to unveil his Cabinet later Tuesday after choosing senior party leaders a day earlier. The new leader looked set to choose those who were largely untainted by a party political funds scandal involving its once powerful factions that heavily damaged public trust in the LDP.

A number of his Cabinet picks were expected to include those close to former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, whose faction was the first of several to be dissolved in response to the scandal.