Hard-line conservative Sanae Takaichi wins Japan’s ruling party leadership, positioning her to make history as the nation’s first female prime minister amid challenges at home and abroad.
Japan is on track to get its first female prime minister after the leading conservative party elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader.
Takaichi, the former economic security minister of Japan, beat Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in a runoff in an intraparty vote on Saturday by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Takaichi is replacing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba as the party looks to regain public support and stay in power.
Despite suffering major election losses, the Liberal Democratic Party remains by far the largest in the lower house and determines Japan’s leader because opposition groups are highly splintered.
