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The nation is about to witness its first woman prime minister, after Sanae Takaichi won the race as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). This victory ensures her appointment as the country's new leader by mid-month.

A Conservative Leader Triumphs

Takaichi, a conservative figure who has cited as an influence Margaret Thatcher in her drive to build a “resilient and successful” Japan on the global scene, beat her liberal competitor, Shinjiro Koizumi, in a runoff election at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.

The party vote was initiated following the outgoing prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, leaving office after just a year in office. Ishiba, a centrist whose election last year had upset the right wing of his party, stated it was time to appoint a replacement to lead a “revitalized party”.

Leading a Weakened LDP

Takaichi, sixty-four, assumes leadership of a party that has suffered through two bruising elections in the past year as voters expressed dissatisfaction over a money-related impropriety and its neglect of the cost-of-living crisis.

“Lately, I have heard harsh voices from across the country saying we don’t know what the LDP represents any more,” Takaichi said moments before the final ballot. “That feeling of crisis motivated me. I wanted to turn people’s concerns about their everyday existence and the future into optimism.”

Voting Process

As expected, Takaichi came out on top in round one, gaining 183 of 589 votes, with Koizumi in close behind with 164 votes. Three other candidates were removed from the contest. The second round, in which MPs’ votes were given more importance than those of ordinary members, was expected to help Koizumi, who was said to be more popular among lawmakers. But it was Takaichi who came out victorious after the second, decisive round.

Road to Prime Minister

While the LDP-led coalition no longer holds a majority of seats in parliament, Takaichi is broadly anticipated to be confirmed as prime minister when MPs vote in the middle of the month.

To prevent her from obtaining the prime ministership, opposition parties would have to agree on their own candidate – a scenario observers agree is highly unlikely.

Pressing Issues

Her immediate task will be to bring together the LDP and win back public support after a prolonged period of wrongdoing and voting defeats.

She will also have to tackle public concern over immigration and overtourism, and try to attract younger voters who turned to smaller nationalist parties such as Sanseito in this summer’s senate vote. Japan should “review policies that allow in people with completely different cultures and backgrounds”, Takaichi said while campaigning.

Significance and Positions

It is impossible to understate the importance of Takaichi’s victory in a country that has few female politicians and business leaders, and often places near the bottom in global gender gap comparisons. She has, though, opposed policies that many voters believe would advance the cause of gender equality, such as enabling women to become female emperors and married couples to use individual family names.

Broader Context

The recent vote had been labeled by observers as a contest for the soul of the LDP, which has been in power almost uninterrupted for the last seventy years. Its electoral dominance has been significantly weakened, however, by a protracted controversy involving many politicians who were found to have funneled hidden funds from the sale of tickets to party gatherings into unofficial reserves.

Takaichi, a foreign policy hawk, will also face a unstable geopolitical situation in east Asia, including the rise of a informal coalition against the West comprising China, Russia and North Korea, and the reshaping of economic ties with the US under Donald Trump, who will is expected to tour Japan towards the end of the month.

Voting Mechanics

Each of the LDP’s 295 lawmakers submitted their choice in the opening stage of Saturday’s vote, with an matching quantity of votes assigned based on the preferences of just over 1 million grassroots members who had already cast their votes.

After no contender secured an clear win in the first round, Takaichi and Koizumi competed directly, with each of the LDP’s 295 lawmakers having a single ballot and the membership’s share lowered to 47 votes, one for each of Japan’s prefectures.