Japan makes history as Takaichi set to become the country’s first woman prime minister
Sanae Takaichi made history by winning the parliamentary elections in Japan on October 21, becoming the country’s first female prime minister.
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Sanae Takaichi created history by winning Japan’s parliamentary elections on Tuesday, becoming the country’s first female prime minister.
According to public broadcaster NHK, Takaichi collected 237 votes in the first round of voting, eliminating the need for a second round of voting in the 465-seat Lower House.
His victory came after the ruling Liberal Democratic Party formed an alliance with the Japan Innovation Party and it was reported that it was signed An agreement was reached over the weekend to form a coalition government.
Takaichi agreed to support JIP policies, such as reducing the number of seats in parliament, free high school education, and a two-year pause on the food excise tax. According to Reuters.
Tobias Harris, founder and principal of risk consulting firm Japan Foresight, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” that JIP may not want to take a cabinet seat, saying “there’s a real risk in joining a coalition with an LDP that has seen historically low approval ratings.” [and] “There really is no public trust.”
Local Japanese media also reported that JIP not looking at cabinet positions It will be in the new administration and will instead support the government from outside.
Harris said that if JIP did not like the LDP’s approach, it would be easier for them to leave the coalition.
Under Ishiba, the LDP suffered heavy electoral losses, losing its majority in both the upper and lower houses.
of japan Nikkei 225While the index, which had increased by 1.5% in the early hours of the day, erased its gains, the benchmark index 10-year government bond yields It fell 1.6 basis points to 1.654%. The yen lost 0.33% to 151.25.
Road to Prime Minister
Takaichi’s The road to the nation’s top job was tough.
In the 2024 LDP presidential race, Takaichi lost to Shigeru Ishiba. He won the party leadership in September this year, defeating Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi after Ishiba announced his resignation.
However, on October 10, the Komeito party abruptly left its alliance with the LDP, ending the relationship that dated back to 1999, leaving Takaichi’s fate uncertain.
A staunch conservative, Takaichi has been widely labeled as the apostle of “Abenomics,” former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic strategy that embraced loose monetary policy, fiscal spending and structural reforms.
He had previously criticized the Bank of Japan’s plan to raise interest rates during the 2024 LDP leadership race, but BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said the central bank would set interest rates. “without any prejudice.”
On the geopolitical front, Takaichi has called for a tough stance against China and is also in favor of revising Japan’s pacifist constitution.
His previous visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals, have drawn criticism from China and South Korea, which see the site as a symbol of Tokyo’s wartime aggression.
Takaichi will be “very, very careful” about communicating his views, especially on foreign policy, Kei Okamura, managing director and portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, told CNBC earlier this month.
“His views on China and Korea are also very well marked. But he also recognizes that he needs to maintain very good relations with all of these countries, especially the United States, because they all have such a huge impact in terms of Japan’s biggest export destinations.”
