Takaichi becomes prime minister with (weak) support from the Ishin party

​​The leader of the Liberal Democratic Party becomes the first woman to head the Tokyo government. The coalition does not have an absolute majority in parliament, but prevailed due to divisions in the opposition. Ishin will not have its own ministers. The government agreement includes a commitment to reduce the number of parliamentarians by 10% and suspend the food consumption tax for two years.

Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Sanae Takaichi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has been elected prime minister by the Tokyo Parliament, supported by the new coalition partner, the Innovation Party (Ishin), which will not, however, have any ministers in the government. Takaichi will be the first woman to lead an executive in Japan, but this turning point comes in an unstable political context: the alliance between the LDP and Ishin does not hold an absolute majority in Parliament, but Takaichi was approved because the opposition forces failed to present a common candidate.

During the vote in the lower house, the 64-year-old conservative won with 237 votes in the first round - in which a candidate must obtain more than half of the votes to avoid a runoff - with the likely support of several independents. In the Upper House, however, Takaichi faced a run-off and was declared the winner with 125 votes, surpassing the 46 obtained by Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, while 47 ballots were considered invalid and 28 were left blank.

Takaichi is now stepping up preparations for the formation of her government, and a source close to her has reported that she may appoint LDP MP Satsuki Katayama as finance minister, as both are considered “fiscal doves” (i.e. in favour of a more expansionary economic policy). The appointment of Katayama — a former senior official at the Ministry of Finance and former minister for regional revitalisation — would be a further sign of the inclusion of women in key government positions. At the same time, Takaichi would be willing to offer important posts to her four rivals in the LDP leadership election held in October, thus signalling her intention to promote party unity through the new cabinet.

The agreement between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Innovation Party was signed yesterday in Tokyo. ‘I look forward to working together to strengthen Japan's economy and transform the country,’ Takaichi said during the signing of the coalition pact with Hirofumi Yoshimura, governor of Osaka, the city where the party was founded and then spread nationwide, and parliamentary leader Fumitake Fujita.

The LDP leader was thus able to breathe a sigh of relief: the agreement does not provide for ministerial posts for Ishin MPs, but guarantees the new executive the support of 231 MPs in the lower house, two short of the threshold needed for an absolute majority, but enough to push through Takaichi's candidacy for prime minister. In return, a number of joint measures were adopted, including a commitment to reduce the number of MPs by 10% and a two-year suspension of the food consumption tax. The agreement also provides for a conclusion on how to handle political donations from companies and organisations, including the possibility of banning them by September 2027, when Takaichi's term as party leader expires.

The two sides also agreed to abolish the decades-old petrol excise tax by the end of the year and to withdraw the £20,000 (£133) per person bonus, a measure sought by the current government.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled almost continuously since the end of the Second World War, had to come to terms with the opposition after the Buddhist Komeito party decided to break the historic government alliance in protest against the appointment of Takaichi, considered too conservative, as party leader.

From an economic point of view, however, Takaichi is considered a “fiscal dove”, favouring increased public spending and tax cuts to support consumers in the face of inflation. According to analysts, expectations of fiscal expansion have already had an impact on the markets: the yen weakened while the main stock index, the Nikkei, closed up 3.4%, setting a new record.

However, the partnership with Ishin, which has always promoted fiscal discipline, could limit some of the new prime minister's expansionary ambitions. Since its founding, Ishin has fought to promote regional autonomy with a programme that aims to decentralise power, reduce bureaucracy and cut public spending, placing a strong emphasis on personal responsibility and local government. The party also supports a constitutional revision to formally recognise the role of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces, an issue on which there is agreement with Takaichi, who is also in favour of increasing defence spending to counter China's growing influence in the region.

However, the exclusion of Ishin members from government posts highlights the fragility of the executive. ‘We are still a group of parliamentarians with no direct experience of government,’ Osaka Governor Yoshimura said yesterday in a television interview. ‘Before asking for ministerial posts, we want to focus on implementing our policies within the coalition,’ he added.