Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan’s next Prime Minister on Tuesday following a runoff vote in Parliament, becoming the country’s first woman to hold the office.
The Upper House confirmed Takaichi’s rise to the premiership, with the lawmaker receiving 125 votes just one above the simple majority required for victory. She had previously secured 237 votes in the Lower House, surpassing the necessary majority of 233.
A former television anchor, Takaichi entered Japanese politics in 1993, winning a seat in the Lower House as an independent. The 64-year-old currently represents her home prefecture of Nara.
She joined Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in 1996 and entered the Cabinet for the first time under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, serving as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs. She later became the first woman to chair the LDP’s Policy Research Council.
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From 2022 to 2024, Takaichi served as Japan’s Economic Security Minister. She also holds the record as the longest-serving Minister for Internal Affairs, having held the post across several tenures.
A prominent voice of the LDP’s conservative wing, Takaichi was elected leader of the party on Saturday after receiving 185 votes, defeating Shinjiro Shinjiro, who garnered 156 votes in a runoff after none of the five candidates in the initial round secured a majority.
As Prime Minister, Takaichi will serve the remainder of former PM Shigeru Ishiba’s three-year term, which ends in September 2027.
Following her election, former Justice Minister Midori Matsushima, one of the 20 lawmakers who supported Takaichi’s candidacy, expressed happiness at the prospect of Japan having its first female Prime Minister.
“The first female Prime Minister is here. I’m so happy that I could witness this. I hope this gives courage to many young women, and to people like her, who were not born into a family of politicians, who were born and raised in a place that had nothing to do with politics,” Matsushima told.
Years of sluggish growth, rising prices and a sharp depreciation of the yen have weighed heavily on the public, and the LDP’s twin defeats have left its leadership under closer scrutiny.
With the ruling bloc losing some of its historical dominance, Takaichi faces the unenviable task of holding together a divided party, managing minority rule, and convincing a sceptical electorate that the LDP can still provide stable government.
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