Overview
- The National Diet voted on Tuesday, elevating the 64-year-old Liberal Democratic Party leader to succeed Shigeru Ishiba.
- Komeito left the government days after Takaichi took over the LDP, citing a refused bill to curb corporate political donations and tensions over her conservative views.
- The LDP–Ishin arrangement was reported to include scrapping value-added tax on food, reducing the number of parliamentarians, and designating Osaka as a vice-capital.
- Takaichi’s agenda reflects a sharper conservative tilt, including opposition to same-sex marriage and separate married surnames, support for a constitutional change to expand the military’s role, and backing for closer ties with Taiwan.
- Her rise caps months of volatility for the LDP after losing its lower-house majority in 2024 and its upper-house majority in July, developments that preceded Ishiba’s decision to step down.