Margaret Thatcher admirer beat her more moderate rival to become leader of Liberal Democratic party
Japan is poised to get its first female prime minister after Sanae Takaichi was elected as leader of the governing Liberal Democratic party (LDP) – a victory that should lead to her being installed as the country’s new leader in the middle of the month.
Takaichi, a rightwing politician who has voiced admiration for Margaret Thatcher in her quest to build a “strong and prosperous” Japan on the international stage, beat her moderate rival, Shinjiro Koizumi, in a runoff election at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.
The election for party president was held after the outgoing prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, announced his resignation after just a year in office. Ishiba, a moderate whose election last year had angered the right of his party, said it was time to find a successor to lead a “new LDP”.
Takaichi, 64, inherits a party that has endured two bruising elections in the past year as voters punished it over a funding scandal and its failure to address the cost of living crisis.
