Takaichi Wins LDP Presidential Election, Defeats Koizumi in Runoff; Ex-Economic Security Minister Expected to Become Japan’s 1st Female Prime Minister

The Japan News

17:18 JST, October 4, 2025

Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi was elected as the Liberal Democratic Party’s 29th president, defeating Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi in a runoff of the party’s leadership race on Saturday.

Takaichi, 64, has become the first woman to assume the LDP presidency, after gathering more supporters among the party’s conservative members.

If she is nominated at an extraordinary Diet session, to be convened as early as Oct. 15, she would become Japan’s first female prime minister. The new prime minister is expected to launch a new cabinet on the day.

The term for the new LDP leader will last through September 2027, which is the remaining term for outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

In the runoff held at the LDP headquarters, Takaichi received 185 votes, while Koizumi, 44, garnered 156 votes.

“There is a mountain of matters we all must tackle together. There are many measures, many of which must be implemented swiftly,” Takaichi said after winning the presidential election. “I will keep my promise. We can’t rebuild [the LDP] unless we mobilize the full strength of all the generations with everyone participating.”

“I, myself, will abandon the notion of a work-life balance. I will work, work, work, work and work,” she added.

After the election, Ishiba said, “For the sake of our nation, the people and the world, I hope that we all unite under the leadership of new President Takaichi, so that the LDP can fulfill its role.”

Open to expanding coalition

At a press conference held later the same day, Takaichi expressed her intention to consider expanding the ruling coalition with a party whose fundamental principles on issues such as constitutional revision, security and fiscal policy align with the LDP, although the ruling coalition of the LDP and Komeito will remain the foundation.

Regarding measures against rising prices, Takaichi said, “We will address the challenges facing the people as soon as possible.”

She said an urgent task is to provide support for struggling small and midsize companies as well as hospitals and nursing care businesses. Takaichi implied an intention to form a supplementary budget to fund such support measures.

When asked about lowering the consumption tax rate, Takaichi said the LDP will “actively debate it and never abandon it as an option.” However, she stressed that she wanted to prioritize what the party can address immediately, with a particular focus on measures to tackle rising prices.

As for the reshuffle of LDP executive posts, Takaichi said, “I want to finalize the lineup early in the week.”

She expressed her willingness to have the other four candidates in the LDP race play key roles.

Regarding Yasukuni Shrine, Takaichi said she would “make an appropriate decision” on whether to visit it.

When asked about U.S. tariffs, Takaichi said Japan would keep the terms agreed between the two countries.

The leadership race came after Ishiba announced he would step down to take responsibility for the party’s crushing defeat in the House of Councillors election in July.

In addition to Takaichi and Koizumi, three other candidates — Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, 64, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, 50, and former LDP Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi, 69 — vied for 590 votes, half from LDP lawmakers while rank-and-file party members and members of LDP-affiliated bodies had their ballots converted into 295 votes. All five candidates had run in the previous LDP presidential election in September last year.

In the first round of voting, Takaichi finished on top with 183 votes — receiving 64 votes from LDP lawmakers and 119 votes from rank-and-file party members and members of LDP-affiliated bodies — followed by Koizumi with 164 votes. Hayashi came in third with 134 votes, while Kobayashi received 59 votes and Motegi received 49.

As none of the five candidates secured a majority, Takaichi and Koizumi faced each other in the runoff. The two competed for a total of 342 votes: 295 votes from Diet members and one vote from each of the party’s 47 prefectural chapters.

A foremost conservative

Takaichi, from Nara City, began aspiring to become a politician after studying at the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management. Takaichi is a veteran politician who has been elected 10 times to the House of Representatives. She served such posts as minister for Okinawa and northern territories affairs, chairperson of the LDP’s Policy Research Council, and internal affairs and communications minister.

She shares a similar mindset and beliefs with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and is one of the party’s foremost conservatives.

The latest election marks Takaichi’s third bid for the party leadership. In her first attempt for the presidency in 2021, she placed third among four candidates despite receiving Abe’s backing.

In the previous LDP presidential election, in which nine candidates ran, she advanced to the runoff but lost to Ishiba.

Takaichi has focused on lawmaker-initiated legislation and led efforts to pass a bill amendment that includes measures to strengthen regulations against illegal online casinos during the previous ordinary Diet session.

In an effort to broaden her support base, Takaichi has spent the past year visiting regional areas.