After a close contest in which he received more votes than all eight rivals, Ishiba, 67, took over as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Friday, succeeding departing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
On Tuesday, the parliament will endorse Ishiba as prime minister because the LDP has a legislative majority.
Reuters reports that Ishiba said, “It is important for the new administration to be judged by the people as soon as possible,” during a press conference on Monday in Tokyo.
The election is scheduled more than a year ahead of time, and it will determine which party will control the lower house of parliament.
Ishiba started selecting government and party officials earlier in the day to run alongside him in the next general election. These officials included two significant former prime ministers, Yoshihide Suga for vice president and Taro Aso for adviser.
In addition, Ishiba invited Shinjiro Koizumi, a well-liked opponent in Friday’s leadership contest who has a positive reputation with the Japanese people, to take charge of election strategy.
But among Ishiba’s choices was Sanae Takaichi, the staunch conservative woman who Ishiba defeated by a narrow margin in the poll’s runoff on Friday.
