Sanae Takaichi retains her position as Japan's 1st female premier

ISTANBUL

Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday retained her position as the country's first female premier after parliament reelected her following her ruling party's landslide victory in the recent snap elections.

Takaichi won a majority vote in both the lower and upper houses of the bicameral parliament as Japan's 105th prime minister, according to a statement.

In the lower house, she secured 354 votes out of 465 members of parliament, while receiving 125 votes out of the present 248 members in the upper house, where the ruling camp remains a minority, and the premier's vote went to a runoff. Takaichi's rival Junya Ogawa received 65 votes.

In the first round, she had received 123 votes. A successful candidate needs the support of one more lawmaker than half of the upper house, which has 250 seats, while in the lower house a candidate or a bill requires the support of at least 233 lawmakers to pass.

Takaichi now holds the record for the highest number of votes received in a prime ministerial election in the House of Representatives, according to Arin Yuni, a prominent Japanese political observer.

The election was due after Japan held snap general elections on Feb. 8, giving Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) a super majority in the lower house, the first time in the post-World War II era.

The ruling party won 316 of the 465 seats in parliament, giving the LDP super majority that Takaichi can override the upper house to implement any bill.

Early Wednesday, Takaichi’s Cabinet resigned en masse, as required by the constitution before the formation of a new government.

However, all cabinet members were later reappointed. The new Cabinet was formally launched following related ceremonies at the Imperial Palace, according to the Nippon news website.

This means Shinjiro Koizumi retained his position as Defense Minister, Toshimitsu Motegi remained Foreign Minister, and Ryosei Akazawa continued as Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

On Friday, Takaichi is expected to pledge to accelerate discussions on a two-year suspension of the 8% consumption tax on food and beverage items in her policy speech, Japan Today reported, citing a government source.

Separately, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Japan on Tuesday against lowering the consumption tax. Such an "untargeted measure" to address the rising cost of living could further deteriorate the country's fiscal health, it said, according to Bloomberg.

Takaichi, 64, was elected the first female prime minister of Japan last October after she won the LDP leadership race.

​​​​​​​She called for snap elections within four months of her time in office.