When now-Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ¡ª the factionless, conservative female with iron-like convictions ¡ª was elected president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Oct. 4, I knew that establishment heads would explode.
It was that spectacle, after Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba announced in early September that he would resign, as much as Takaichi¡¯s triumph, that I wanted to see most.
The former economic security minister¡¯s victory in the LDP presidential contest and prime ministerial selection, as well as the end of the LDP¡¯s ruling coalition with Komeito, is testament to Takaichi¡¯s political instincts and skills, but it also signifies a changing of the LDP old guard, and possibly a reduction in the number of seats in Japan¡¯s Lower House of parliament.
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