Sanae Takaichi on track to become Japan’s first female prime minister after reportedly agreeing to new coalition | Japan
Sanae Takaichi moved a step closer to becoming Japan’s first female prime minister after her party agreed to form a new coalition with a smaller party.
On Monday, officials confirmed media reports that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic party (LDP) would join forces with the right-wing Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party), which shares his hawkish stance on China and opposition to mass immigration.
“Today we will sign the agreement to form a coalition government,” Ishin’s co-chairman Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters, adding that the agreement would be formalized later in the day.
“After careful consideration last night, I telephoned President Takaichi this morning and asked him to reach a coalition agreement. I conveyed that we must work together to move Japan forward.”
The agreement ends two weeks of uncertainty over Takaichi’s attempt to become Japan’s first female prime minister; He was expected to fill the post after winning the vote to lead the LDP earlier this month following the resignation of outgoing prime minister Shigeru Ishiba.
But his bid was nearly derailed when Komeito, the LDP’s partner of 26 years, left the coalition, triggering a failed attempt by opposition parties to choose a unified candidate to lead the rainbow coalition.
Komeito, backed by the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai, opposes Takaichi’s hawkish views on security and has said the LDP has failed to deal with a damaging funding scandal.
The scandal, combined with the cost of living crisis, contributed to two harrowing elections for the LDP in the past 12 months, in which the then-ruling coalition lost its majority in both houses of parliament.
Lawmakers will vote on Tuesday for a new prime minister – Japan’s fifth prime minister in recent years.
With a total of 231 seats, the new coalition is still two seats short of a majority in the powerful lower house, but Takaichi is a strong favorite to win because he will need more support than the other candidate in the event of a runoff vote.
His anticipated appointment will come just days before Donald Trump arrives in Japan for a two-day visit and Takaichi makes his international debut as prime minister at the Apec summit in South Korea.
The Ishin leadership hopes to receive concessions in exchange for its decision to support the LDP-led administration. Yoshimura described his party’s demands to make Osaka, where Ishin is based, a secondary capital and to reform social security if a natural disaster or other emergency occurs in Tokyo as “absolute necessities.”
Kyodo news agency said Ishin also called for the elimination of the 10% consumption (sales) tax on food and a ban on corporate and organizational donations to political parties, and many in the LDP opposed the demand.
Despite the coalition’s progress, Takaichi, a staunch conservative who opposes same-sex marriage and the reign of female empresses, will inherit a minority government tied to opposition groups to pass legislation, including the upcoming supplementary budget.
Takaichi called for higher spending and tax cuts to help consumers in the face of rising inflation; these policies could quickly lead to friction with Ishin, who favors small government and reduced spending.
Like his mentor Shinzo Abe, Takaichi wants to revise Japan’s post-war “pacifist” constitution to officially recognize the role of its military, known as self-defense forces. He is a regular visitor to Yasukuni, a controversial war shrine in Tokyo that some of Japan’s neighbors see as a symbol of wartime aggression.
He also called for stricter rules on immigration; This issue has risen to Japan’s political agenda due to record levels of immigration and inbound tourism.
Wires contributed reporting
