Sanae Takaichi was voted Japan’s first female prime minister on Tuesday after a victory of support in both houses of parliament, backed by a new coalition between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party amid shifting multiparty politics, according to Kyodo News.
Takaichi, aged 64, won 237 votes in the House of Representatives with 465 members, overcoming the majority threshold in round one. She next won from a runoff in the 248-member House of Councillors by 125 votes, outpacing Constitutional Democratic Party leader Yoshihiko Noda on 46; 47 votes were void and 28 were blank, Kyodo reported.
The vote followed Shigeru Ishiba’s entire cabinet resigning at the beginning of a 58-day extraordinary Diet session through Dec. 17. Takaichi took control of the LDP leadership on Oct. 4, after which longtime ally Komeito departed their 26-year coalition—leaving the LDP to form an alliance with the Japan Innovation Party. The LDP-JIP coalition remains short of majority in both houses, and therefore Takaichi must pass bills with the assistance of other opposition parties.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara later unveiled a lineup with various ‘firsts’ and big-gun appointments. Satsuki Katayama was named finance minister—the first of her gender—the first such move by an LDP that aims to transform its image while elevating women to key portfolios. Kimi Onoda became economic security minister and will also oversee policies on foreigners. Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator with America, was named trade minister in a bid to maintain continuity with bilateral talks.
Takaichi also assigned important posts to opposition candidates from the October leadership race in a gesture of party reconciliation. Shinjiro Koizumi is defense minister and Toshimitsu Motegi foreign minister. Yoshimasa Hayashi minister of internal affairs and communications, and Takayuki Kobayashi is LDP policy chief. Hitoshi Kikawada is child policy and Japan’s low birthrate minister, and Jiro Akama will be head of the National Public Safety Commission.
The coalition arrangement with JIP, led by Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, positions the party as an advisory partner rather than a cabinet participant. The design underscores both Takaichi’s need for broader Diet cooperation and her effort to stabilize an LDP government reconfigured by coalition realignment.
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