Sanae Takaichi, leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, will become the country’s first woman prime minister, after winning the vote in parliament this Tuesday (21).
Takaichi received 237 votes, surpassing the majority of Japan’s 465 seats, according to officials at Japan’s House of Representatives.
His victory puts Japan, a close U.S. ally, in a sharp swing to the right.
The achievement comes after the Liberal Democratic Party, which has governed Japan for most of its post-war history, agreed to a coalition deal with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin.
Takaichi is also expected to be approved by the less powerful upper house and sworn in as Japan’s 104th prime minister on Tuesday night, succeeding to take responsibility for the electoral defeats.
She takes office at a time when Japan faces economic problems and a fragmented, deadlocked politics, and just days before US President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit.
She was elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in early October, defeating more moderate candidates. That suggested a rightward shift for the scandal-hit PLD, which suffered crushing losses in the last two parliamentary elections after voters flocked to new ultra-right parties.
Dealing with the high price of products will be one of your first challenges; for example, the price of rice, a staple food in Japan, has almost doubled compared to last year.
There is also the constant headache of Japan’s declining birth rate, shrinking workforce and growing elderly population. There is a growing public backlash against mass immigration. And then there is the Trump administration and its tariffs, which rocked Asian economies earlier this year.
There is also the challenge of regaining public trust, with the LDP experiencing its biggest crisis in decades and being stripped of its parliamentary majority under former prime minister Shigeru Ishiba following a political scandal involving secret funds.
Being elected leader of the ruling party would have been enough to secure the position of prime minister. But Takaichi’s path to power was complicated; In addition to losing its majority, the LDP also lost its 26-year-old coalition partner, Komeito, which ended the alliance when it won the leadership contest.
This left the LDP scrambling to find a new coalition partner – and ultimately joining forces with the opposition party Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
Nippon Ishin shares some of Takaichi’s conservative values – such as stricter immigration controls – and has secured a commitment to reduce the number of lawmakers by 10% as part of their coalition agreement.
The party also has other goals, such as making Osaka, its hometown and power base, Japan’s second capital.
Takaichi’s party hopes she can be the answer to his recent unpopularity. But with a turnover of prime ministers that has seen four leaders in the past five years, she will need to deliver quick results to stay in power.
