Japan set to elect Sanae Takaichi as first female prime minister

Japans parliament is set to elect ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the countrys first female prime minister on Tuesday one day after her struggling party struck a coalition deal with a new partner that would pull her governing bloc further to the rightTakaichi will replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ending a threemonth political vacuum and wrangling since the Liberal Democratic Partys disastrous election loss in July Ishiba who lasted only one year in office resigned with his Cabinet earlier Tuesday paving the way for his successorThe LDPs offthecuff alliance with the Osakabased rightwing Japan Innovation Party or Ishin no Kai ensures her premiership in a vote later in the day because the opposition is not united Takaichis untested alliance is still short of a majority in both houses of parliament and they need to court other opposition groups to pass any legislation a risk that could make her government unstable and shortlivedPolitical stability is essential right now Takaichi said at Mondays signing ceremony with the JIP leader and Osaka Gov Hirofumi Yoshimura Without stability we cannot push measures for a strong economy or diplomacy The two parties signed a coalition agreement on policies underscoring Takaichis hawkish and nationalistic viewsTheir lastminute deal on Monday comes 10 days after the Liberal Democrats lost its longtime partner the Buddhistbacked Komeito which has a more dovish and centrist stance The breakup threatened a change of power for the LDP which has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for decadesOnce she is elected prime minister Takaichi 64 will present a Cabinet with a number of allies of LDPs most powerful kingmaker Taro Aso and others who backed her in the party leadership vote JIP will not hold ministerial posts in Takaichis Cabinet until his party is confident about its partnership with the LDP Yoshimura saidTakaichi is running on deadline a major policy speech later this week talks with US President Donald Trump and regional summits She needs to quickly tackle rising prices and compile economyboosting measures by late December to address public frustrationWhile she would be the first woman serving as Japans prime minister she is in no rush to promote gender equality or diversity Takaichi is among Japanese politicians who have stonewalled measures for womens advancement Takaichi supports the imperial familys maleonly succession and opposes samesex marriage and allowing separate surnames for married couplesA protege of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Takaichi is expected to emulate his policies including stronger military and economy as well as revising Japans pacifist constitution With a potentially weak grip on power it is unknown how much Takaichi would be able to achieve When Komeito left the governing coalition it cited the LDPs lax response to slush fund scandals that led to their consecutive election defeatsThe centrist party also raised concern about Takaichis revisionist view of Japans wartime past and her regular prayers at Yasukuni Shrine despite protests from Beijing and Seoul that see the visits as lack of remorse about Japanese aggression as well as her recent xenophobic remarks Takaichi has toned down her hawkish rhetorics On Friday Takaichi sent a religious ornament instead of going to YasukuniThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever