Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the major opposition Japan Innovation Party (JIP) agreed on Monday to form a coalition government, paving the way for LDP leader Sanae Takaichi to become the country’s first female prime minister, state media reported.
The agreement was reached after a phone call between Takaichi and JIP chief Hirofumi Yoshimura, said state broadcaster NHK.
The move comes after the Komeito party ended its 26-year coalition with the LDP, signalling a major shift in Japan’s political landscape.
Takaichi, a staunch conservative and close ally of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, made history after being elected as the LDP’s first woman leader earlier this month.
On Tuesday, lawmakers will vote to elect the new prime minister.
The LDP has 196 seats in the 465-member lower house, and a prime minister must be elected with 233 votes.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has 148 seats, the JIP 35, the Democratic Party for the People 27 and Komeito 24.
With the JIP’s 35 lawmakers, the LDP-JIP bloc will hold only 231 of the 465 seats in the lower house, two short of a majority.
However, Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, on Saturday expressed his willingness to work with Takaichi in areas where their policies align.
