Takaichi set to be Japan's 1st woman prime minister

Tokyo, Japan --- Conservative Sanae Takaichi hailed a “new era” Saturday after winning the leadership of Japan’s ruling party, putting her on course to become the country’s first woman prime minister.

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The 64-yearold, whose hero is Margaret Thatcher, said that a “mountain of work” lay ahead to restore the fortunes of her ailing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The LDP has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for decades but it has been haemorrhaging support as backing grows for smaller parties, including the anti-immigration Sanseito.

Takaichi, an arch-conservative who tempered her rhetoric in the LDP contest, will almost certainly be approved by parliament later this month as Japan’s fifth prime minister in as many years.

“Together with so many of you, we have carved a new era for the LDP,” Takaichi said at LDP headquarters after winning a runoff vote against the telegenic and more moderate Shinjiro Koizumi, 20 years her junior.

“Rather than feeling happy right now, (I feel) real challenge lies ahead. I am convinced that there is a mountain of work we must tackle together, pooling our efforts,” she said.

“We must all pull together across all generations and work as one to rebuild (the LDP)... Everyone will have to work like a horse,” she said to applause.