Former defence chief elected leader of Liberal Democrats and vows to end ‘widespread distrust’ in party

Shigeru Ishiba, a veteran moderate, will next week be installed as Japan’s prime minister after he was elected leader of the governing Liberal Democratic party (LDP).

The 67-year-old, a former defence minister, beat his rightwing rival Sanae Takaichi, who was attempting to become the country’s first female prime minister, by 215 votes to 194 in a runoff election at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Friday.