Tokyo — Japan's parliament elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country's first female prime minister Tuesday, a day after her struggling party struck a coalition deal with a new partner expected to pull her governing bloc further to the right.
Takaichi replaces Shigeru Ishiba, ending a three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the Liberal Democratic Party's disastrous election loss in July.
Ishiba, who lasted only one year as prime minister, resigned with his Cabinet earlier in the day, paving the way for his successor.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Sanae Takaichi stands up to acknowledge the applause after she was selected as Japan's new prime minister during an extraordinary session of the lower house of parliament in Tokyo, Oct. 21, 2025. PHILIP FONG