A short trip to Taiwan has presented former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba with a golden opportunity to burnish his foreign policy chops ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election next month.
With internal party maneuvering expected to enter full swing in the upcoming weeks, especially after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced his intention to step down, Ishiba has been making the case for a fifth bid to lead the party, bolstering his media presence and advancing his policy platform in a newly published book.
This week, acting as the co-leader of an intra-party delegation of six lawmakers well-versed in security issues on a trip to Taipei, Ishiba met with a string of senior Taiwanese officials, including President Lai Ching-te and former President Tsai Ing-wen.