Hardline Takaichi to shatter Japan's glass ceiling and pivot to right

Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi is set to be voted in as Japan's first female prime minister on Tuesday, 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.

An acolyte of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi 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. She is expected to appoint another Abe protege, Satsuki Katayama, to the post of finance chief, local media reported.

That would make Katayama the country's first female finance minister. Her appointment, like Takaichi's elevation to the post of premier, marks a huge shift in a country where women hold fewer than one in five parliamentary seats and almost all big corporations are run by men. But her elevation is unlikely to be feted as a sign of progressive change, marking instead a turn to the right on immigration and social issues. After years of deflation, Japan is now grappling with rising prices, something that has sparked public anger and fuelled support for oppositions groups including the far-right Sanseito party.


Katayama chairs the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's research commission on the finance and banking systems and has a strong background in economic and finance fields, having served as minister in charge of Local Economic Revitalisation under Abe.

Lawmakers will vote later in parliament to elect the new prime minister. With a combined 231 seats in parliament's dominant lower house, the coalition falls two votes short of a majority. But that tally is almost certainly enough for Takaichi to win the vote.

Equity markets have been emboldened by the prospect of Takaichi, who is seen as likely to spend more to try and jumpstart the economy. The Nikkei share average hit another record high on Tuesday.