Japan is set for its first female prime minister

TOKYO — Sanae Takaichi, a hard-line conservative lawmaker, won a critical leadership vote Saturday, putting her on track to become Japan’s first female prime minister, a milestone in a country where women are vastly underrepresented in politics.

Takaichi, 64, prevailed in an election by the governing Liberal Democratic Party after two rounds of voting by lawmakers and rank-and-file members. Her victory could herald a rightward shift in Japan, where antiestablishment politicians have recently made gains with voters concerned about stagnant wages, rising prices and an influx of foreign workers and tourists.

Takaichi, in a short speech after her victory before a crowd of LDP leaders gathered at party headquarters in Tokyo, promised to “work, work and work” and exhorted her colleagues to “work as hard as a carriage horse.”

“I am determined to confront various issues rather than feel happy,” she said.

Takaichi, who is expected to be named prime minister of Japan’s coalition government during an extraordinary session of parliament in mid-October, would succeed Shigeru Ishiba, who announced last month his intent to resign after about a year in office.

Takaichi’s election suggests that the power brokers of the LDP, the broad-tent conservative group that has been Japan’s dominant political force for 70 years, believe she is the party’s best shot at a comeback. The LDP has suffered bruising defeats in elections over the past year, leaving it in the unusual position of being a minority in both houses of the parliament, known as the Diet.

Takaichi’s victory reflects the party’s efforts to address voters’ concerns about the economy, immigration and other matters.

The government has faced pressure recently to place new limits on the number of immigrants and to restrict real estate purchases by foreigners.

Takaichi has been an outlier among the candidates in her plans for the Japanese economy. While her rivals broadly backed the Bank of Japan’s efforts to gradually increase interest rates to combat inflation, Takaichi has instead espoused a return to a platform of low interest rates coupled with broad fiscal spending.

But in the near term, reviving the LDP’s political fortunes is likely to remain a priority.

Takaichi promised Saturday to “make the LDP a determined and bright party.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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