TOKYO: Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi is set to be voted in as Japan's first female prime minister on Tuesday (Oct 21), marking a symbolic shattering of the glass ceiling in a country where men still wield most power and setting the stage for a forceful shift to the right.
The hard-right Takaichi, an acolyte of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is now almost certain to become prime minister at a parliamentary vote on Tuesday after her Liberal Democratic Party on Monday agreed to a coalition deal with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin. Takaichi's victory will make her the first female premier in Japan, where the top echelons of politics and business are still overwhelmingly male dominated.
But her election is unlikely to be feted as a sign of progressive change. Instead, it will likely mark a harder tack to the right in a country increasingly worried about rising prices, lacklustre growth and immigration.
Takaichi has a number of socially conservative stances - such as being against changing the law that requires married couples to have the same surname.
She plans to appoint another former Abe acolyte, Satsuki Katayama, as finance minister, broadcaster FNN and other domestic media outlets said. Katayama is likely to be Japan's first female finance minister.
Katayama chairs the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's research commission on the finance and banking systems and has a strong background in economic and finance fields, having served as minister in charge of Local Economic Revitalisation under Abe.
Lawmakers will vote later in parliament to elect the new prime minister. With a combined 231 seats in parliament's dominant lower house, the coalition falls two votes short of a majority. But that tally is almost certainly enough for Takaichi to win the vote.
Equity markets have been emboldened by the prospect of Takaichi, who is seen as likely to spend more to try and jumpstart the economy. The Nikkei share average hit another record high on Tuesday. - Reuters
