Lawmakers applaud as Sanae Takaichi, center, was elected for Japan's new prime minister during the extraordinary session of the lower house, in Tokyo, Japan, October 21, 2025. EUGENE HOSHIKO / AP
Japan's parliament elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country's first female prime minister on Tuesday, October 21, a day after her struggling party struck a coalition deal with a new partner expected to pull her governing bloc further to the right.
Takaichi replaces Shigeru Ishiba, ending a three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the disastrous election loss by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in July. Ishiba, who lasted only one year as prime minister, resigned with his Cabinet earlier in the day, paving the way for his successor.
Takaichi won 237 votes – four more than a majority – compared to 149 won by Yoshihiko Noda, head of the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, in the lower house, which elects the prime minister. As the results were announced, Takaichi stood up and bowed deeply.
The LDP's alliance with the Osaka-based right-wing Japan Innovation Party (JIP), or Ishin no Kai, ensured her premiership because the opposition is not united. Takaichi's untested alliance is still short of a majority in both houses of parliament and will need to court other opposition groups to pass any legislation – a risk that could make her government unstable and short-lived.
