Tokyo (EFE).- Conservative Sanae Takaichi, leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), became the country’s 104th prime minister and the first woman to hold the position on Tuesday after winning the Lower House vote.
«Sanae Takaichi has been elected as the new prime minister,» said Fukushiro Nukaga, speaker of the Lower House of parliament at the conclusion of the vote count, where she garnered 237 of the 465 votes, four more than she needed.
Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), came in second with 149 votes; followed by Yuichiro Tamaki of the Democratic Party for the People (DPP), with 28 votes; Tetsuo Saito of the Buddhist Komeito Party, which recently abandoned the coalition with the LDP after 26 years, obtained 24 votes; and the remaining votes went to minor parties.
Takaichi’s victory was jubilantly announced in the Lower House, the vote of which prevails, while voting in the Upper House was ongoing.
The appointment of Takaichi, 64, was practically assured after she signed an agreement the previous day with the opposition Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), her new coalition partner, to count on its support in the vote, in which the fragmented opposition was unable to present a united candidate as challenger.
The change of government comes after Shigeru Ishiba, 68, resigned as prime minister in September following poor election results when the former coalition lost its majority in both houses of parliament.
Ishiba’s resignation prompted a primary election within the LDP on Oct. 4, in which Takaichi, one of the party’s hardliners, emerged victorious in the second round.
EFE
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