Japan’s governing party has picked former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba as its leader, setting him up to become prime minister next week.

Ishiba will succeed Fumio Kishida, who reshaped Japan’s role in the international community but last month announced he would step down amid record-low approval ratings.

Shigeru Ishiba will become Japan’s next prime minister after he was elected as the new leader of the country’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Friday. He replaces Fumio Kishida, who unexpectedly announced in August that he would not run again, sparking a race within Japan’s ruling party to replace him.