Shigeru Ishiba

Japan's prime minister said on Nov. 29 he will have "frank discussions" with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, saying that cooperation between was vital to ensuring a "free and open Pacific."

"I will have frank discussions with incoming president Trump and lead the alliance to new heights," Shigeru Ishiba said in parliament in a key policy address.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling party was reportedly locked in talks to form new alliances on Tuesday after losing its parliamentary majority in an election debacle.

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed Monday to stay in office despite his gamble of snap elections backfiring, with the ruling party's worst result in 15 years.

Ishiba, 67, called Sunday's election days after taking office on Oct. 1, but voters angry at a slush fund scandal punished his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan almost non-stop since 1955.

New Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's snap election gamble could backfire this weekend, with his ruling party at risk of losing its majority for the first time in 15 years.

Ishiba took office and called an election less than a month ago after a tough contest within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed for all but four of the last 69 years.

Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba warned in his first policy speech Friday that "today's Ukraine could be tomorrow's East Asia" while also dubbing the country's low birth rate a "quiet emergency."

"Many fear that today's Ukraine could be tomorrow's East Asia. Why did deterrence not work in Ukraine?" Ishiba told parliament.

Shigeru Ishiba became Japanese prime minister on Tuesday, seeking to restore the ruling party's popularity and tackle a demographic crisis, a lacklustre economy and fears over China's military build-up.

Stocks plunged in Tokyo on Monday after the yen surged in reaction to Shigeru Ishiba's election last week as the head of Japan's ruling party, which boosted expectations the Bank of Japan will continue hiking interest rates.

Japan's new prime minister will be formally elected by parliament on Oct. 1 following next week's leadership contest, a ruling party official said on Wednesday.

Polls indicate that three frontrunners are emerging among the nine candidates to succeed Fumio Kishida as head of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in the Sept. 27 internal vote.

Japan's leadership race kicked off on Thursday with a record nine candidates, including the surfing son of a former prime minister and an arch-nationalist, vying to be the first woman premier.