Overview

• Takaichi won the Liberal Democratic Party leadership and is expected to face a Diet vote later this month that could make her Japan’s first female prime minister.
• Komeito and other potential partners have expressed reservations about her hardline platform, narrowing options to form a workable governing bloc.
• Analysts caution that limited coalition pathways raise the risk of legislative paralysis and a short-lived tenure before she even takes office.
• Her agenda pairs Abenomics-style fiscal stimulus with a hawkish security stance, and she opposes same‑sex marriage and separate surnames for married women.
• The incoming government confronts U.S. tariff pressures under President Donald Trump, strained relations with China, and voter frustration over rising living costs after recent electoral setbacks.