Japan's reelected Prime Minister Ishiba vows to step up reform

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged to take tougher measures against misuse of political funds after he was reelected by parliament Monday following a major loss in the polls last month by his governing coalition.

Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner Komeito together lost a majority in the 465-seat Lower House, the more powerful of Japan’s two-house parliament, in the Oct. 27 election. The defeat was blamed on voter outrage over financial misconduct by his party.

“We must remind ourselves of the basics that politics is for the people, as we tackle political and party reforms," Ishiba said. He said that in response to the poor election results, "We must be able to have empathy for the pain, sorrow and anger of the people.”

A special parliamentary session convened Monday to pick a new leader in a vote required within 30 days of a general election. Ishiba beat top opposition leader Yoshihiko Noda 221-160 in the first runoff in 30 years.

In his second Cabinet in just over a month, Ishiba reappointed most of its previous members, including Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi. He replaced three ministers who lost seats or were affected by the election results.

Ishiba stressed the importance of pursuing the significant buildup of Japan's defense power to deal with growing threats from China, Russia and North Korea, while cooperating with its ally the United States and other like-minded partners.

He said he plans to attend Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and Group of 20 summits later this month to further strengthen partnership with the Global South nations and the Asia-Pacific region. He said he will hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and other leaders.

His government is also reportedly arranging a possible meeting with President-elect Donald Trump on his way home.

Ishiba has refused to step down and showed willingness to cooperate with additional coalition partners to boost stability and help him pursue his party’s policies.

Ishiba will struggle in the coming months to gain consent from the opposition on policies including the budget and other legislation, experts say. Ishiba said he will listen to opposition parties more carefully than before.

“While we stick to the LDP-Komei partnership as the foundation, we will do our utmost to gain understanding of as many other parties as possible as we humbly work to ensure safety and security of the people,” Ishiba said.

He wants to cooperate more closely with a rising smaller, conservative Democratic Party for the People, whose seats quadrupled to 28 under its popular leader Yuichiro Tamaki. His proposal for raising the basic tax-free income allowance and increasing take-home wages garnered support from low-income and younger voters.

Tamaki only wants to cooperate with Ishiba’s party on policy — not as part of a coalition — since he wants to use his leverage to increase his party’s standing ahead of the next election.

Tamaki was recently stung by a magazine article exposing an extramarital affair, which he admitted to on Monday.

This story has been corrected to show the summit is Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, not ASEAN.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, right, speaks with other lawmakers at a special parliamentary session of the lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Keisuke Suzuki, newly appointed justice minister, walks at the prime minister's office Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Defense Minister Gen Nakatani arrives at the prime minister's office Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Junko Mihara, minister in charge of Policies Related to Children, walks at the prime minister's office Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato arrives at the prime minister's office Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrives at the prime minister's office Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Hiromasa Nakano, newly appointed minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, arrives at the Prime Minister's office Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Taku Eto, newly appointed Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, arrives at the prime minister's office Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

A staff member at parliament puts up two names, Shigeru Ishiba (of Japanese Prime Minister), right, and Yoshihiko Noda (leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party) for a runoff vote for a new prime minister at a special parliamentary session of the lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, votes for the new prime minister at the parliament's lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waits after the first vote for a new prime minister at a special parliamentary session of the lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Lawmakers applaud as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, second left on top, was elected for a new prime minister at a special parliamentary session of the lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Lawmakers applaud as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, top center, was elected for a new prime minister at a special parliamentary session of the lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Lawmakers applaud as Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, standing, was elected for a new prime minister at a special parliamentary session of the lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, center, queues for a runoff vote for a new prime minister at a special parliamentary session of the lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, center, reacts as he was elected for a new prime minister at a special parliamentary session of the lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, makes a parliamentary vote for a new leader during a special parliamentary session of the lower house, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Yoshihiko Noda, center, head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, attends a special parliamentary session of the lower house for parliamentary voting for a new leader, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Lawmakers vote for the new prime minister at the parliament's lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Lawmakers vote for the new prime minister at the parliament's lower house Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, center, attends a special parliamentary session of the lower house before a parliamentary vote for a new leader Monday, Nov. 11, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A group of Japanese lawmakers, center, arrive at the parliament in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

A group of Japanese lawmakers, center, arrive at the parliament in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, center, arrives at his office in Tokyo Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (Kyodo News via AP)

MUNICH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 3, 2024--

SimScale GmbH, a pioneer in cloud-native engineering simulation and Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division today announced a strategic partnership to transform how engineering teams deploy advanced structural analysis. The collaboration removes traditional accessibility barriers by delivering the advanced capabilities of Hexagon’s Marc nonlinear finite element solver as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) through SimScale’s intuitive cloud native platform, unlocking unprecedented value for engineering teams.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241202212598/en/

Unlocking Advanced Simulation for Engineering Organizations of all sizes

The joint offering transforms access to advanced design and nonlinear analysis capabilities for engineering organizations that may lack the resources for traditional methods or specialized IT infrastructure. The simulations are delivered through a browser-based platform that makes it easy to integrate advanced simulation into workflows, enabling engineers to innovate without requiring extensive technical expertise.

Empowering Enterprise Design Team Collaboration

Larger, multidisciplinary design teams with existing simulation support will benefit from reduced silos between design and analyst departments, fostering a more collaborative environment. By enabling designers to leverage simulation earlier in the design process, the solution helps teams to streamline their workflows, perform rapid design iterations, reduce physical prototypes and accelerate innovation. This collaborative approach empowers teams to make more informed decisions faster, enhancing overall productivity and design accuracy.

Unrivaled Ease of Use and Scalable Deployment Assured

The joint solution is designed from the ground up for ease of use and deployment speed, requiring no installation or extensive IT support. Engineers can access Hexagon’s proven Marc solver directly through SimScale’s browser-based interface, ensuring a smooth and intuitive user experience. As an advanced nonlinear structural and multi-physics solver, Marc excels in a wide range of engineering applications, making it an invaluable tool for all industry verticals including automotive, aerospace, energy, electronics and manufacturing. Its robust capabilities enable precise simulations of complex material behaviors—including plasticity, hyper-elasticity, and fatigue—allowing engineers to predict damage and failure in structures and components. From manufacturing processes like sheet metal forming to critical sealing analyses in the oil and gas sector, Marc provides comprehensive solutions for tackling the most challenging engineering problems. This capability, combined with the platform's robust and proven technology, ensures that even the most demanding simulations are managed efficiently and effectively in the cloud. In addition, SimScale’s live in-product support provides a unique safety net for all users, as evidenced by G2's ranking of SimScale as 1st in user satisfaction in the Simulation & CAE Software category.

Accelerated Adoption through Product-Led Growth Journeys

The SimScale platform also features a unique product-led-growth approach, supporting > 600k engineers with self-service learning and adoption journeys with transparent user management and real-time support. This enables organizations to quickly onboard and scale their simulation capabilities, driving broad awareness and engagement across teams. In addition, by providing robust simulation templates, the solution simplifies complex analyses via pre-configured setups, enabling non-experts to run accurate simulations easily while ensuring that all simulations adhere to established standards, thus democratizing access and maintaining compliance for the entire team.

“Partnering with SimScale allows us to bring our world-class simulation technology to a wider market,” said Subham Sett, Vice President Multiphysics at Hexagon . “We have found Marc being used very successfully in applications we had never expected from shoe design to 3D printing, and this is a great solution to enable both small businesses and large enterprises to confidently explore challenging nonlinear materials and applications and achieve results faster than ever before.”

“Marc has been an exceptional workhorse for CAE experts for decades. We’ve successfully deployed this technology to manufacturing simulation users through our Virtual Manufacturing Suite. The partnership with SimScale enables us to take a big step forward in fulfilling our vision of democratizing access to all users.”

“This partnership is a major step forward for the engineering community,” said David Heiny, CEO of SimScale. “Our joint solution eliminates the traditional pain points of simulation – from complex installations to heavy local processing – empowering engineers everywhere to harness the full potential of structural analysis.”

Companies interested in understanding how they can access the Marc solver on the SimScale platform can contact SimScale via www.simscale.com/contact-us/

About SimScale

SimScale is the world’s first cloud-native engineering simulation platform, offering powerful and accessible computational fluid dynamics (CFD), finite element analysis (FEA), and thermal simulations. With SimScale, every engineer has access to the power of physics and AI simulation without the need for expensive hardware or software. SimScale is trusted by >600k engineers worldwide to make informed decisions, optimize designs, and innovate faster. For more information, visitwww.simscale.com.

About Hexagon

Hexagon is the global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector, and mobility applications.

Our technologies are shaping production and people related ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future. Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division provides solutions that use data from design and engineering, production and metrology to make manufacturing smarter. For more information, visithexagon.com/mi.

Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 24,500 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 5.4bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.

Advanced nonlinear analysis with Hexagon's Marc™ on SimScale's cloud-native platform (Graphic: Business Wire)