Newly-elected leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Sanae Takaichi celebrates after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, on Oct. 4, 2025. Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool Photo via AP
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Oct. 4 elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning her to become the country’s next prime minister in a parliamentary confirmation vote expected in mid-October.
Takaichi, 64, a staunch conservative and vocal China hawk, defeated her moderate rival Shinjiro Koizumi 185–156 in a runoff at LDP headquarters in Tokyo. The victory makes her Japan’s first female party president and, almost certainly, its first female prime minister—since the LDP remains the largest bloc in parliament and opposition parties are too fragmented to mount a united challenge.
