TOKYO: Japan’s ruling party and main opposition are set to form a coalition to enable Sanae Takaichi to become the country’s first woman premier, local media reported on Sunday.
Takaichi became leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) earlier this month, but her bid to become premier was derailed by the collapse of her ruling coalition.
Since then, the LDP has been working to cobble together a different alliance, putting her chances back on track.
Takaichi and her counterpart Hirofumi Yoshimura from the opposition Japan Innovation Party (JIP) are set to sign a coalition agreement on Monday, Kyodo News reported, citing unnamed senior officials from both parties.
The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper also said Takaichi and Yoshimura were “likely to sign a coalition agreement after talks on Monday”, citing unnamed party sources.
The reports come after the LDP’s junior partner, the Komeito party, left the ruling coalition after 26 years, plunging Japan into a political crisis.
The fragmented opposition mounted an unsuccessful attempt to oust the LDP.
An alliance between LDP and JIP could lead to Takaichi’s election as premier on Tuesday, but they are still two seats shy of a majority.
Should the vote go to a second-round runoff, however, Takaichi would only need support from more MPs than the other candidate.
All the politicking comes just days before the expected arrival of US President Donald Trump.
Trump will travel to Japan before the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.
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