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A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***Last week, Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took office after his predecessor, Fumio Kishida stepped down as scandals plagued his government. Ishiba has said his government will remain committed to the U.S.-Japanese alliance, but his government will also have to grapple with a slowing economy and regain public trust lost during the Kishida administration. We asked three experts to answer one question: Will Japan remain a reliable security partner even as Ishiba is dealing with domestic political turmoil?Read more below:Sheila A. Smith John E. Merow Senior Fellow for Asia-Pacific Studies Council on Foreign RelationsA new prime minister in Tokyo has raised questions about the burgeoning agenda of strategic cooperation between the United States and Japan. Competing for his party’s presidency and leadership of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba argued for alliance reforms to allow for joint use of U.S. bases in Japan and a collective security pact in Asia that would resemble NATO. These ideas are ambitious and controversial.But Ishiba has a far more immediate challenge. The Liberal Democratic Party is now conspicuously divided between his supporters and those of the woman he defeated, Takaichi Sanae. He appointed only his supporters to the Cabinet, leaving all of those associated with former prime minister Shinzo Abe, many tainted by a slush fund debacle, out in the cold.Ishiba has called for a Lower House election on Oct. 27, an election that is likely to be bruising for his scandal-ridden party. Worst case scenario for Ishiba is the conservative Liberal Democratic Party could lose its majority, and be forced into coalition with its liberal rival,