Deal puts Takaichi on brink of becoming Japan's PM

Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi is almost certain to become Japan's first female prime minister on Oct 21, after the right-wing opposition Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, said it was ready to back her premiership.

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“I told Takaichi that we should move forward together,’ Ishin’s leader and Osaka governor Hirofumi Yoshimura told reporters in the western Japanese city on Oct 20.

He would meet Ms Takaichi at 6pm (5pm Singapore time) to conclude the alliance, he added.

The coalition deal included deadlines and specific plans for policy implementation, including a 10 per cent reduction in lawmaker numbers, said Ishin’s other boss, Mr Fumitake Fujita.

Investors’ anticipation of a deal that could lead to higher government spending weakened the yen and pushed stocks in Japan to a record high, with the blue-chip Nikkei share index closing 3.4 per cent higher.