Shigeru Ishiba Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography

Some Lesser Known Facts About Shigeru Ishiba

• The Christian minister Kanamori Michitomo was his mother’s grandmother.

• He was named Shigeru after former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshida Shigeru.

• In 1958, his family moved to Tottori when his father, Jirō Ishiba, was elected governor of Tottori Prefecture. He served in the position till 1974.

• Later, Jirō was appointed as the Minister for Home Affairs in the Zenkō Suzuki Cabinet in the House of Councillors.
  

  A childhood picture of Shigeru Ishiba with his parents

• During his time at Keio Senior High School, he often felt homesick and would go to Tokyo Station to watch the night trains running to Tottori.

• Shigeru Ishiba is a Protestant Christian. When he was 18 years old, he was baptised in the United Church of Christ in Japan.

• During his studies at Keio University, Ishiba met his future wife, Yoshiko Nakamura.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba during his college days

• In 1979, after completing his graduation, he started working at the Mitsui Bank (now Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation). He was appointed at the Honmachi branch of the bank in Chuo Ward, Tokyo.

• In 1981, after his father died, former Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka (his father’s friend) advised Ishiba to join politics and follow his father’s path.

• In 1983, Ishiba left the Mitsui Bank and started working in the Thursday Club office for Tanaka’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

  

  Ishiba (left) in 1983, while working in the faction office of former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei (right)

• In 1986, during the Japanese general election, Ishiba contested from the Tottori district on the ticket of the LDP. He was then elected to the House of Representatives.

• He became the youngest Member of the House at the age of 29.

• He then worked as a junior Diet member, as he was an expert in drafting agricultural policies. However, the 1990 Gulf War and his 1992 visit to North Korea aroused his interest in defence policy.

• He then served as the parliamentary vice minister of agriculture under the Miyazawa Cabinet.

• In 1993, he left the LDP and joined the Japan Renewal Party.

• He left the Japan Renewal Party when it merged with many other parties and then joined the New Frontier Party.

• In 1996, he left the New Frontier Party when he experienced regular conflicts between Ozawa and non-Ozawa sections in the party.

• In 1997, he rejoined the LDP.

• In July 2000, Shigeru Ishiba was reappointed as the Parliamentary Vice Minister of Agriculture under the Mori Cabinet.

• In December 2000, he was appointed as the Deputy Director General of the Defence Agency.

• In September 2002, he became Director General of the Defence Agency when the Koizumi Cabinet was reshuffled and entered the cabinet for the first time.

• In 2003, when Iraq was invaded by an American-led coalition, he served as the Director General of the Defence Agency.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba during his visit to Iraq while serving as Director-General of the Defence Agency

• He claimed that the invasion was legal and credited with deploying the first Japanese Self-Defence Forces without permission from the UN.
  

  Ishiba and US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in Tokyo on 15 November 2003

• In January 2004, he sent the soldiers to Iraq to help in reconstruction efforts.

• In September 2004, he left the cabinet.

• In 2004, Shigeru Ishiba said that the Self-Defence Forces act like the ‘autistic forces.’ He also criticised them for their poor communication. Later, he was criticised for his remarks, and then he apologised for his statement.

• On 26 September 2007, he was appointed as the Minister of Defence in the cabinet of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. He served in the position till 1 August 2008.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba, third row, second from left, with the other members of the Yasuo Fukuda Cabinet on 26 September 2007

• During his time in Fukuda’s cabinet, Ishiba became the second person to believe in the existence of UFOs, after Nobutaka Machimura.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba and US Defence Secretary Robert Gates in November 2007

• Ishiba then contested for the Presidential position on the ticket of the LDP after Fukuda resigned.

• The elections were held on 22 September 2008, and Tarō Asō won with 351 votes out of the total 527 votes. Ishiba earned the fifth and last position with 25 votes.

• On 24 September 2008, the Asō Cabinet was formed, and Ishiba was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

• In 2009, during the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, he asked Asō for resignation after the defeat of the LDP.

• That same year, after the House of Representatives election, he retained his seat.

• After that, Sadakazu Tanigaki replaced Asō as the party president, and Ishiba was designated as the chairman of the Policy Research Council.

• Ishiba then became one of the notable LDP leaders when the party was in opposition.

• In September 2011, when Tanigaki reshuffled the party leadership, Ishiba was removed from his position.

• In September 2012, Shigeru Ishiba contested for the position of President in the LDP but lost to the other candidate, Shinzo Abe.

• On 27 September 2012, he was appointed as the secretary-general of the LDP.

• In December 2012, when the LDP won the election, he was re-appointed as the secretary-general under Abe.

• In 2013, during the North Korean crisis, Ishiba said that Japan had the right to strike North Korea first if needed.

• He often supports the democratic system in Taiwan.

• He has said that the Russia-Ukraine war would not be compared to a possible China-Taiwan conflict, and Asia needs a security alliance like NATO to stop wars and protect countries.

• In September 2014, during the cabinet reshuffle, Abe appointed Ishiba as the Minister for Overcoming Population Decline and Vitalising Local Economy.

  

  Shigeru Ishiba with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe and Yoshihide Suga in September 2014

• Reportedly, he refused a cabinet post related to security law reforms.

• During his time in the LDP, he often criticised factionalism. However, on 28 September 2015, Ishiba founded his own faction named the Suigetsukai.

• In April 2016, during the cabinet reshuffle, Shigeru Ishiba left the cabinet and refused the position of Minister of Agriculture.

• During the 2018 LDP presidential election, Ishiba challenged Abe but was defeated again.

• In 2020, Shinzo Abe resigned for the second time. Ishiba contested for the position of President of the Liberal Democratic Party. However, he lost to Yoshihide Suga and earned third position.

• In 2021, Ishiba refused to contest for the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election and began supporting Taro Kono.

• On 14 August 2024, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that he would not contest again as LDP leader in September 2024. He said that he would resign as prime minister.

• After that, Ishiba, Sanae Takaichi, and Shinjirō Koizumi became the main candidates to replace Fumio Kishida as LDP leader and prime minister.

  

  Shigeru Ishiba, Shinjirō Koizumi, and Sanae Takaichi

• On 27 September 2024, Shigeru Ishiba won the LDP leadership election. He defeated Sanae Takaichi in a second round and got 215 votes from 189 MPs and 26 regional branches.

• He then became the new LDP leader and designated prime minister. Many foreign media houses called the event ‘Ishibamania.’

• After that, many experts claimed that his win was unexpected because he was not popular among LDP MPs and had often lost past elections.

• The Japanese stock market fell after he won the prime ministerial elections. The moment was named ‘Ishiba Shock.’

• After three days, Ishiba appointed new officials in his party. He appointed former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga as the Vice President, former Vice President Tarō Asō as Chief Advisor, and Hiroshi Moriyama as the Secretary General.

• Shun’ichi Suzuki became the Chairman of the General Council, Itsunori Onodera was appointed as the Chairman of the Policy Research Council, and Shinjiro Koizumi was appointed Chairman of the Election Strategy Committee.

• On 30 September 2024, Ishiba announced the dissolution of the House of Representatives on 9 October 2024. He added that a snap general election would be conducted on 27 October 2024.

• After that, the Lower House voted to end the special Diet session on 9 October 2024.

• In September 2024, Ishiba suggested creating an ‘Asian NATO,’ to be led by the US-Japan alliance. He said that the group would include countries like Australia, India, and South Korea to protect against threats from China, Russia, and North Korea. However, his idea faced strong rejection from the US, India, China, and ASEAN countries.

• In 2024, he sent a ritual offering to the Yasukuni Shrine.
  

  Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo

• On 1 October 2024, Ishiba was elected as the Prime Minister of Japan by the Diet. He was appointed by Emperor Naruhito at the Tokyo Imperial Palace. He then became the twenty-fifth Liberal Democratic Prime Minister.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba after being elected as Prime Minister by the Diet on 1 October 2024

• After that, Ishiba announced key appointments in his cabinet, and his decision to leave Sanae Takaichi created disputes within the party.

• On 4 October 2024, in his first speech, Ishiba said that his main focuses were the low birth rate, the regional security problems, and deflation.

• Ishiba said that the Imperial House of Japan would remain stable as it had fewer male successors remaining. He also felt sad about the 2023-2024 slush fund scandal.

• On 9 October 2024, Shigeru Ishiba dissolved the House of Representatives.

• On 27 October 2024, the LDP withdrew support for 12 politicians who were linked to the slush fund scandal.

• Ishiba announced that the party would support these politicians only if they won re-election.

• Other politicians punished in the scandal were also barred from contesting the LDP’s proportional representation list.

• In elections, the LDP lost 68 seats and its majority in the Diet, its worst loss since 2009.

• The next day, Ishiba said that he would continue working as Prime Minister, and on 11 November 2024, he was re-elected as Prime Minister.

• Ishiba won 221 votes after two rounds. He defeated Yoshihiko Noda, who got 160 votes, of the Constitutional Democratic Party.

• After that, Ishiba’s government presented Japan’s largest-ever budget of over 115 trillion yen for 2025. It focused on the social security of the old population, the defence needs for regional threats, free high school, and low insurance fees.

• In November 2024, Ishiba asked U.S. President Joe Biden to approve Nippon Steel’s purchase of U.S. Steel. However, Biden cancelled the deal due to security concerns.

• After this, Japan tried to improve its relations with China by easing visa rules for Chinese tourists.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the APEC Peru 2024

• In the 2024 US election, when Donald Trump won, Ishiba congratulated him and planned to meet him soon.

• In 2024, a noted media house, The Guardian, called him a ‘bookish idealist.’

• In November 2024, he met former American President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at the APEC summit in Peru.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in November 2024

• In January 2025, Shigeru Ishiba’s government announced that same-sex partners would have equal rights as common-law married couples under 24 laws.

• He also supported the dual surname system so that married couples could keep their own names after marriage. In December 2025, he shared his perspective on same-sex marriages in a parliamentary session. He said,
  

  I have met concerned individuals, and I can see that being together is the most precious thing to them. While there is no ‘scale’ for measuring the national happiness, I believe that fulfilling these deepest wishes would have a positive and beneficial impact on the overall well-being of Japan.”

• When former American President Joe Biden’s presidency came to an end, Ishiba attended a virtual meeting with Biden and the Philippine President Marcos to strengthen cooperation.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba with Philippine President Bongbong Marcos at the Malacañang Palace

• In February 2025, Ishiba visited Washington, D.C. and met U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House with his translator Sunao Takao. He discussed trade, security, and Japan’s investment plans in the U.S.
  

  Shigeru Ishiba while meeting the US President Donald Trump at the Oval Office of the White House during the latter’s official visit to Washington, D.C.

• Both agreed to strengthen military cooperation, work on trade issues, and oppose China and North Korea’s nuclear threat.

• However, later, Trump imposed tariffs on Japanese goods, and Ishiba then set up a ministerial council to face US tariffs under the Trump administration. He called it a national crisis and urged unity.

• He was criticised for saying that he did not know how to deal directly with Trump. Japan’s Finance Minister Kato said that counter tariffs were possible only after following WTO rules.

• In February 2025, Ishiba announced that Japan would provide medical care and education to people from Gaza.

• After a public conflict between Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Donald Trump, Ishiba said that Japan would support Ukraine by sending transport vehicles.

• He later joined Ukraine-related meetings, which signalled that Japan could help Ukraine in its future security.

• In March 2025, Shigeru Ishiba gave around ¥100,000 in gift certificates to new LDP lawmakers, saying they were personal mementoes.

• After that, many lawmakers returned the gifts after the step was criticised for political fund transparency. He attracted criticism from rivals, opposition leaders, and governors, as they called it a breach of donation rules.

• In July 2025, the ruling LDP-Komeito alliance lost its majority. However, Ishiba announced that he would continue working as prime minister until completing trade talks with the US. He rejected all the fake news of an early resignation.

• After internal party pressure, Ishiba announced in September 2025 that he would resign as party leader and prime minister.
  

  Ishiba announced his intention to resign as Prime Minister on 7 September 2025

• Ishiba is an expert in military equipment. As a ‘military geek,’ he understands weapons and defence laws.

• He has supported Japan in building a special marine force for island defence.

• In his free time, he enjoys building plastic models of planes and ships, which are displayed in his office.

• He often visits the shrines and graves of his ancestors and follows his family’s Buddhist and Shinto traditions.

• He likes eating the 1970s pop group Candies. He enjoys reading three books a day and prefers reading to socialising.

• Shigeru Ishiba leads a ramen society within his party to promote the dish.

• In 2025, he attended the Tokyo Girls Collection fashion show and became the first Japanese prime minister to attend the event to promote a lively image of Japan.

  

  Shigeru Ishiba at the Tokyo Girls Collection fashion show

• He is friends with opposition leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Seiji Maehara. Reportedly, they are connected over their love of trains.

• He is a heavy smoker.