TOKYO: (Oct 22) Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader Sanae Takaichi was elected Prime Minister on Tuesday, making history as the country’s first female leader.
Takaichi, 64, secured 237 out of 465 votes in the Lower House of Parliament, defeating Yoshihiko Noda, the head of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ), who garnered 149 votes, according to Kyodo News. The decisive win allowed her to avoid a runoff.
A close ally of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi now faces a series of pressing challenges — reviving Japan’s sluggish economy, addressing demographic decline, and uniting an LDP that has been weakened by internal scandals and factional divides.
Ahead of her formal election, Takaichi had already begun assembling her Cabinet. While she has extended offers of ministerial roles to members of the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) — also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai — the party is not expected to join the government.
On Monday, Takaichi and Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, the JIP’s leader, reached a formal agreement to cooperate on key reforms. Their joint agenda includes reducing the number of lawmakers by 10 per cent, restructuring Japan’s social security system, and promoting Osaka as a “secondary capital” alongside Tokyo.
The JIP’s parliamentary leader, Fumitake Fujita, said there was unanimous support within the party for collaborating with Takaichi’s LDP, though former leader Nobuyuki Baba clarified that members were not in favor of taking Cabinet positions.
Takaichi’s rise marks a turning point in Japanese politics, long dominated by male leaders. Her leadership will now be closely watched for how she balances continuity with reform in the world’s third-largest economy.