Japan Elects Sanae Takaichi as First Female Prime Minister

Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president, Sanae Takaichi, was elected Prime Minister on Tuesday, becoming the country’s first woman to hold the position.

Takaichi secured victory in the Lower House on the first round of voting, avoiding a runoff, by winning 237 votes against Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda, who received 149 votes, according to Kyodo News. Out of 465 votes cast, Takaichi’s win cements her position as Japan’s new leader at the age of 64.

Takaichi now faces the dual challenge of reviving a sluggish economy and uniting a ruling party that has been rocked by scandals and internal conflicts.

Ahead of her official election, Takaichi moved swiftly to form a Cabinet, although no lawmakers from the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), also known as Nippon Ishin no Kai, are expected to join. On Monday, she reached a formal agreement with Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, the leader of the JIP, marking the beginning of a collaborative effort on key reforms.

Under the agreement, both parties will work together on several major initiatives, including reducing the number of lawmakers in Japan’s parliament by 10 percent and overhauling the social security system. The JIP’s long-standing proposal to make Osaka a “secondary capital” alongside Tokyo is also expected to be included in the joint agenda.

JIP parliamentary leader Fumitake Fujita said the decision to form a coalition with the LDP received strong support within the party. “There was not a single cautious, opposing, or critical opinion,” he told reporters after a party meeting on Sunday.

Takaichi reportedly offered several ministerial positions to JIP members to strengthen the alliance. However, the party showed reluctance to accept Cabinet posts. Former JIP leader Nobuyuki Baba said that none of the party members at Sunday’s meeting supported taking positions in Takaichi’s administration.

Takaichi, a protege of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, inherits a complex political landscape and a parliament eager for reforms, as she begins her historic tenure as Japan’s first female prime minister.

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