After a wild week, Sanae Takaichi may have found the political support she needs to become Japan's next prime minister — but the new cross-party alliances come with risks that her economic plans get mired in an increasingly fragmented legislature.
Japan's Lower House of parliament is set to select a prime minister to replace Shigeru Ishiba on Oct. 21, and Takaichi is likely to win amid a lack of any strong alternative bids.
Takaichi won the race to become leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party earlier this month, ordinarily guaranteeing her the premiership in Japan, but faced a major setback when the party's junior coalition partner withdrew its support for her.
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