Former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in an interview with Japan’s MBS News on November 7, 2025. Photo: Screenshot from youtube.com

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba recently commented on issues including the Japan-US relations after stepping down, saying he does not believe that blindly saying “yes” to the US will constitute a truly strong alliance, during a recent interview with Japanese media MBS News.

According to the report, Ishiba expressed a sense of huge relief in a Friday interview with Japan’s MBS News, saying that he felt like a heavy load lifted from his shoulders, not carrying the weight of Japan, the morning after stepping down when he was asked about his feelings after leaving office. He said he felt like being freed from a state of maximum tension. 

Ishiba also expressed a sense of happiness after leaving office. He said that he didn’t really understand why he had to be criticized just for going out to eat ramen on a Saturday afternoon. “But being prime minister is a job where you get scolded no matter what you do,” Ishiba said, adding that it is such a relief being able to freely eat ramen or curry, or go to a convenience store whenever he wants. 

When commenting on Japan-US relations, Ishiba said Japan and the US are not a single country despite that they are allies. Their national interests would not be served if each country’s role in security matters is not clearly defined, per MBS report. 

Ishiba commented that the US, in fact, is a “very coldly pragmatic” country and Japan needs to make considerable efforts to demonstrate that it is an “indispensable country” to the US. 

Ishiba said he does not believe that blindly saying “yes” to all of America’s demands constitutes a truly strong alliance. He thinks Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is fully aware of this and will conduct future diplomatic work based on this understanding, according to the MBS report.

Global Times