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Former Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi has become the new head of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), paving the way for her to be the country’s first female prime minister. Takaichi, 64, won the runoff with 185 votes against Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s 156, succeeding outgoing PM Shigeru Ishiba. A staunch conservative aligned with the late Shinzo Abe, her hawkish foreign policy stance is expected to strain ties with China and South Korea. She vowed to lead Japan into “a new era,” turning public “anxieties into hope.”
Saturday, 4 October, 2025