A man looks at a stock quotation board displaying the Nikkei share average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, October 21, 2025. Equity markets have been emboldened by the prospect of Takaichi, who is seen as likely to spend more to try and jumpstart the economy. -Reuters
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.
