Coalition deal set to make Takaichi Japan’s first female PM

Right-wing Japan Innovation Party signs coalition deal with governing LDP, opening way for Takaichi to win vote.

Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi is set to become Japan’s first female premier after her governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) signed a coalition deal with a right-wing partner party.

Takaichi andHirofumi Yoshimura, co-leader of the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, signed the coalition agreement in front of reporters at 6pm local time (09:00 GMT) on Monday evening.

Yoshimura had earlier made an11th-hour announcement that his party was prepared to back a Takaichi premiership, providing the LDP with the support it needs to remain in power.

“I told Takaichi that we should move forward together,” he said.

The LDP had appeared on the cusp of losing power when Japan’s legislature meets for an extraordinary session to vote for the next prime minister on Tuesday.

The deal clears the way for Takaichi to win Tuesday’s vote, which will see her replace incumbent Shigeru Ishiba, who has resigned.

Political turmoil

Takaichi, a 64-year-old China hawk from the right-wing party, became leader of the LDP earlier this month.

Her bid to become Japan’s first female premier was disrupted when the centrist Komeito party ended a 26-year alliance with the LDP.

Coming just days after Takaichi’s election as the LDP leader, the move plunged the country into a political crisis.

The Buddhist-backed Komeito said the LDP had failed to tighten funding rules in the wake of a slush fund scandal. It was also unnerved by Takaichi’s ultraconservative positions, including a history of harsh rhetoric on China, despite Takaichi having toned that down recently.

The deal between the LDP and Ishin will deliver a combined 231 seats in the lower house of parliament, two short of a majority, meaning the new coalition will still need support from other parties to push through legislation.

But should the vote for Ishiba’s replacement go to a second-round run-off, Takaichi would only need support from more MPs than the other candidate.

Muted response from women

Despite Takaichi appearing set to break the glass ceiling to become the first female premier, many Japanese women were not celebrating her rise.

“The prospect of a first female prime minister doesn’t make me happy,” sociologist Chizuko Ueno posted on X, saying her leadership “doesn’t mean Japanese politics becomes kinder to women”.

Chiyako Sato, a political commentator for the Mainichi newspaper, said Takaichi’s policies were “extremely hawkish and I doubt she would consider policies to recognize diversity”.