Japan Poised to Get First Female Prime Minister After Sanae Takaichi Wins LDP Leadership

AP

Sanae Takaichi is expected to become Japan’s first female prime minister.

Japan is on course to have its first female prime minister after Sanae Takaichi was elected leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), a victory that paves the way for her to take office later this month.

Takaichi, 64, a right-wing politician who has often cited Margaret Thatcher as an inspiration, defeated her moderate rival, Shinjiro Koizumi, in a runoff ballot at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday. She secured 185 votes to Koizumi’s 156.

The leadership contest was triggered by the resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who stepped down after only a year in office. Ishiba, a moderate, said it was time for a successor to lead what he described as a “new LDP”.

Takaichi inherits a party weakened by two poor election results in the past year, following a damaging funding scandal and voter anger over the rising cost of living.

“Together with so many of you, we have carved a new era for the LDP,” Takaichi said after her victory. “Rather than feeling happy right now, I feel real challenges lie ahead. We must all pull together across generations and work as one to rebuild the party. Everyone will have to work like a horse.”

Although the LDP-led coalition has lost its parliamentary majority, Takaichi is widely expected to be confirmed as prime minister when MPs vote, most likely on 15 October. Analysts say it is unthinkable that opposition parties could unite behind a single rival candidate.

Her immediate priorities will be to restore unity within the LDP, rebuild public trust, and address concerns over immigration, mass tourism, and youth disaffection, with younger voters increasingly turning to smaller populist parties such as Sanseito.

Takaichi has called for Japan to “reconsider policies that allow in people with completely different cultures and backgrounds”. Despite the historic nature of her election in a country with few women in political or corporate leadership, she has opposed measures that many believe would advance gender equality, including female succession to the throne and the right of married couples to use different surnames.

Analysts have described the vote as a battle for the LDP’s future. Once dominant, the party has been shaken by revelations that dozens of MPs funnelled undeclared profits from party event ticket sales into slush funds.

On foreign policy, Takaichi, a security hawk, will face challenges in East Asia, including China, Russia and North Korea’s closer ties, as well as navigating Japan’s economic relationship with the United States under Donald Trump, who is expected to visit Japan later this month.

In the first round of voting, Takaichi topped the poll with 183 of 589 votes, ahead of Koizumi on 164, with three other candidates eliminated. In the decisive runoff, lawmakers’ votes carried greater weight, helping her secure victory.

Source: The Guardian



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