Takaichi elected as Japan's first female prime minister

Japan's parliament elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country's first female prime minister on Tuesday, a day after her struggling party struck a coalition deal with a new partner expected to pull her governing bloc further to the right.

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Takaichi replaces Shigeru Ishiba, ending a three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the Liberal Democratic Party's disastrous election loss in July.

Ishiba, who lasted only one year as prime minister, resigned with his cabinet earlier in the day, paving the way for his successor.

Takaichi won 237 votes - four more than a majority - compared to 149 won by Yoshikoko Noda, the head of the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

The vote took place in the lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two chambers of parliament and the one that chooses the prime minister.

As the results were announced, Takaichi stood up and bowed deeply.

While Takaichi made history by becoming the first leader of a country where men still largely hold sway, she has not promoted gender equality or diversity.

An admirer of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi is among the Japanese politicians who have stonewalled measures for women's advancement. She supports the imperial family’s male-only succession and opposes same-sex marriage and allowing separate surnames for married couples.