At the beginning of the month, multiple news sources hailed the 64-year-old Sanae Takaichi as the soon-to-be first female prime minister of Japan. She is the president of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The LDP has dominated Japanese national politics since the 1950s. This unprecedented run, with only two brief exceptions, was not always based on a parliamentary majority. The LDP often formed a coalition with the Komeito Party, a socially conservative-centrist party, which is associated with the Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. At the last minute, this long-standing LDP-Komeito coalition fell apart, and it appeared that Sanae Takaichi would not become prime minister. However, the LDP formed a new alliance with the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP). This party is considered centre-right and more conservative than Komeito. Following the new alliance, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office on October 21.
