Sanae Takaichi won the Liberal Democratic Party presidential poll Saturday with the backing of a party membership that saw its moderate groups split their support among two candidates in the first round of voting and amid worries about the rise of smaller right-wing opposition forces like Sanseito.
Takaichi, who became the LDP’s first-ever female president and is likely to become Japan’s first female prime minister, was also the choice of former Prime Minister Taro Aso, whose support was critical for her victory in the runoff and whose role as a behind-the-scenes kingmaker could greatly influence her party leadership and Cabinet choices, as well as her policies.
Saturday’s voting patterns suggest that, while the conservative and hawkish Takaichi, a protege of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was the favorite among local LDP chapters, her fellow members of parliament were more divided.
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