Overview
- Parliament elected Takaichi on Tuesday with 237 votes in the lower house and 125 in the upper house, making her Japan’s first woman to hold the post.
- She leads an LDP–Japan Innovation Party tie‑up that falls short of majorities in both chambers as Ishin declined cabinet posts and case‑by‑case support is expected.
- Takaichi instructed ministers to compile an economic package and pledged to scrap the provisional gasoline tax and raise the nontaxable income threshold while ruling out an early snap election.
- She appointed Satsuki Katayama as finance minister, the first woman in the role, and investors parsed her past view that the yen’s fair value is closer to ¥120–130 per dollar.
- An upcoming visit by President Trump and back‑to‑back ASEAN and APEC meetings will be early tests for her stance on trade, defense and regional diplomacy.