The former minister Japanese From the interior, Sanae Takaichi, became the leader of the ruling Democratic Liberal Party (PLD) on Saturday by defeating the Minister of Agriculture, Shinjiro Koizumi.
According to international media, the election opens the door to become the first president of Japan.
Takaichi, 64, replaces the outgoing prime minister, Shigeru ishiba, and is also the first woman president of the PLD, he points out EFE.
Japan Could Soon Make History With ITS First-Ver Female Prime Minister.
Hardline Conservative Sanae Takaichi Has Been elected the New Leader of Japan’s Ruling Party, Putting Her On Track To Lead The World’s Fourth-Biggest Economy: https://t.co/tszuo2w13i pic.twitter.com/0B7A9U9SRC
– Bloomberg (@business) October 4, 2025
She was the only woman among the five candidates who attended these primaries and obtained 185 of the 342 votes at play in the second round, in front of Koizumi’s 156, who at 44 also sought to make history as the youngest leader in postwar Japan.
Takaichi was in both laps the preferred for the bases and affiliates of the party, while Koizumi enjoyed greater support among his legislators.
Advanced primary
The primary of the ruling party were advanced after the resignation of Ihiba last month, for the bad electoral results harvested in their little more than a year of government, in which the official coalition has lost its parliamentary majority
Takaichi will now have to ensure opposition cooperation to be confirmed as Prime Minister, the first woman who would hold this position, in a subsequent vote in Parliament, which is expected to be celebrated in an extraordinary session in the middle of this month.
Commotion to murder of former Japan Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe
It is expected that there are no obstacles for confirmation, since there is no consensus among the opposition to present other names.
A new era
“A new era for the PLD and Japan opens,” said Takaichi, the most visible face of the hard wing of the party, in his first statements minutes after his victory is confirmed.
In a press conference held hours later, the policy referred that the coalition with its partner, Komeito, will continue to be the basis of the new executive, and that the future relationship with other parties “also depends on its plans or intentions”, so it did not enter to comment on possible alliances to carry out the government.
For the agency APin a country with a low international classification in gender equality, it would be historical that Takaichi has become the leader of the PLD, conservative and long career in power.
Shinzo Abe heiress
Considered spiritual heiress of the murdered former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, some analysts believe that Takaichi’s revisionist opinions around Japan’s warmongering past could reverse years of progress in cooperation with South Korea and distension with China.
His periodic visits to the controversial Yasukuni sanctuary of Tokyo, linked to militarism and the Japanese colonial era, have raised strong criticisms of China and South Korea.
Takaichi’s mandate at the head of the PLD will last until September 2027, when the original three -year mandate of Isthiba ends. If confirmed as Prime Minister, he will have to face a complex internal panorama, where he must seek support from the opposition to carry out budgets and laws in his minority government inherited from Ishiba, while trying to increase the international profile of the Asian country, he points out EFE.
