Japan is poised to get its first female prime minister after Sanae Takaichi was elected as leader of the governing Liberal Democratic party (LDP) – a victory that should lead to her being installed as the country’s new leader in the middle of the month.
Takaichi, a rightwing politician who has voiced admiration for Margaret Thatcher in her quest to build a “strong and prosperous” Japan on the international stage, beat her moderate rival, Shinjiro Koizumi, in a runoff election at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday.
