She replaces Shigeru Ishiba, who stepped down last month after less than a year in the top job and is expected to succeed him as prime minister. In the past, winning the presidency of the LDP guaranteed the victor the prime ministership, but without a majority in the national parliament, she must seek the support of opposition lawmakers.
During the leadership campaign, Takaichi vowed to increase the number of female cabinet ministers but otherwise has a record of holding socially conservative views on women’s issues. She has opposed calls to legally allow married couples to have separate surnames as well as reforms to allow female succession in Japan’s imperial family.
Takaichi triumphed over Koizumi by securing the support of party kingmakers in a two-round voting process that involved LDP lawmakers and rank-and-file party members.
She was an ally of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest serving prime minister who was assassinated in 2022, and is a strong proponent of his conservative politics and “Abenomics” economic vision.
Known for her hawkish and nationalistic views, she has made regular visits to the Yasukuni shrine to Japan’s war dead, where 14 convicted war criminals are buried – a practice that is seen as antagonistic in China and South Korea.
Kenneth McElwain, a politics professor at the University of Tokyo, said Takaichi’s victory reflected a view in the party that it needs to move to the right to win back public support after it lost the upper house election in July and the far-right Sanseito party gained ground.
“The party remains divided on whether they think they lost, particularly the upper house election in July, because their right flank has been too exposed or they need to appeal to the middle, which is where most voters tend to self identify in surveys,” he said.
“If you think the problem is we’ve lost the right and we need to secure it, then Takaichi is the more attractive candidate.”
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