Overview
- Takaichi secured 237 of 465 votes in the House of Representatives after the outgoing Ishiba cabinet resigned en masse earlier in the day.
- The Liberal Democratic Party’s new partnership with Nippon Ishin does not command a comfortable majority in the upper house, so bills and budgets will need cross‑party support.
- Under the agreement, Nippon Ishin is expected to forgo cabinet posts and provide advisory backing as Takaichi forms her government.
- A protégé of Shinzo Abe, Takaichi backs constitutional revision and a stronger defense posture and opposes same‑sex marriage and separate surnames for married couples.
- She is Japan’s fifth leader in five years and will quickly turn to diplomacy with a scheduled visit to Tokyo by U.S. President Donald Trump.