Sanae Takaichi set to become Japan’s first female PM

Sanae Takaichi has been elected leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday. She is set to become the first female Prime Minister of Japan on 15th of this month. Japan’s former Security Minister Takaichi defeated Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi in a runoff, securing 185 votes to Koizumi’s 156, after none of the five candidates in the party leadership race secured a majority in the initial round of voting.
The leadership election was triggered by the resignation of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba last month.Along with Sanae Takaichi, the contenders were former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, and Takayuki Kobayashi. Koizumi, 44, son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, enjoyed the strongest support among his fellow lawmakers, according to recent media polls.
Takaichi is known as a staunch conservative, and Koizumi, who would have become Japan's youngest postwar leader, were seen as early frontrunners, however Hayashi, 64, a dovish moderate with extensive ministerial experience, quickly closed the gap ahead of the poll.