Tokyo, Oct 21 (IANS): Sanae Takaichi has been elected as Japan’s first female Prime Minister following a runoff election in the Parliament.

She received 125 votes in the Upper House, just one vote above the simple majority necessary for victory. Takaichi, a former television anchor, entered Japanese politics in 1993 and currently represents her home prefecture of Nara.

She joined Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party in 1996 and entered the Cabinet for the first time under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She held the position of Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs and later became the first woman to chair the LDP’s Policy Research Council.

From 2022 to 2024, she was Japan’s Economic Security Minister and held the record as the longest-serving Minister for

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