Sanae Takaichi, President of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, was reelected as the country’s 105th prime minister on Wednesday following a parliamentary vote.
At an extraordinary session of the National Diet convened earlier in the day, both the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors held votes to appoint the prime minister.
In the powerful lower house, Takaichi secured 354 votes in the first round, defeating Junya Ogawa, head of the main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, who garnered 50 votes, along with other candidates.
In the upper house, no candidate won an outright majority in the initial ballot, triggering a runoff. Takaichi prevailed with 125 votes, compared with 65 for Ogawa.
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The House of Representatives also elected Eisuke Mori, a veteran LDP lawmaker and former justice minister, as speaker, while Keiichi Ishii of the CRA was chosen as vice speaker.
Earlier Wednesday, Sanae and her cabinet resigned en masse, as required under the Constitution, ahead of the formation of a new cabinet later in the day.
Given that Takaichi’s first cabinet was formed only months ago after she became LDP leader and prime minister in October, major changes to the lineup are unlikely, according to local media reports.
Kyodo News said that key ministers including Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi are expected to retain their posts.
Xinhua/NAN
