Japan ’s governing party elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader on Saturday, setting her up to become the U.S. ally’s first female prime minister.

Takaichi defeated Shinjiro Koizumi 185 to 156 in a second-round runoff vote to become leader of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan almost uninterrupted since the end of World War II.

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The leadership race was triggered last month when Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he would step down after a year in office. Though Takaichi is likely to succeed him as prime minister of Japan, the world’s fourth-largest economy, when parliament votes later this month, it is not guaranteed since the LDP-led coalition lost its majority in both

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