Only a few days ago there were celebrations in Japan and elsewhere that Sanae Takaichi had finally broken the glass ceiling by getting elected as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and in the process the prospect of being the first female Prime Minister. But even before the party was winding down comes the news that all the hoopla could be short-lived as a major rift in the ruling coalition is in the making.

Komeito, which has been a partner of the LDP for some 25 years, has some major misgivings and without its support in the Diet, the incoming leader will have to seek new allies. It is not just the prospect of “revolving door” Prime Ministers but policy paralysis and at a critical time of governance. Getting new allies is not all that easy in a fractured political system where m

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