TOKYO, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sanae Takaichi, leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was officially elected the 104th prime minister of Japan on Tuesday after winning in both houses of parliament, a day after her party agreed to form a coalition with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party (JIP).

With the JIP's support, Takaichi secured the prime minister's seat, becoming the first woman in the nation to hold the office. What is Takaichi's background? How did she perform in the parliamentary vote? What are the challenges facing the newly formed coalition?

TAKAICHI'S PROFILE

Born in 1961 in Nara Prefecture, Takaichi was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1993 and has since held a series of senior posts, including minister of internal affairs and communications, minister for economic security, and vice minister of economy, trade and industry.

A close ally of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is widely regarded as a staunch successor to his political agenda. The 64-year-old identifies as a hardline conservative and advocates for the restoration of traditional Japanese values and nationalist pride, emphasizing constitutional amendments, strengthening security and maintaining the imperial family's male-only succession.

Takaichi had previously contested the LDP leadership three times. After unsuccessful bids in 2021 and 2024, she claimed the presidency this October by defeating Shinjiro Koizumi in the final round of voting.

Shortly after, however, she faced her first challenge as leader when the LDP lost its long-time junior coalition partner Komeito. Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito announced the decision to terminate his party's 26-year partnership with the LDP, citing the ruling party's "insufficient" response to a high-profile political funds scandal.

Takaichi was elected LDP president on Oct. 4. The prime ministerial designation vote was originally scheduled for Oct. 15 but was postponed to Oct. 21 as uncertainty following Komeito's departure cast doubt on whether Takaichi could secure enough parliamentary support in the race.

VICTORY IN BOTH HOUSES

According to Japanese law, the election of a new prime minister is held in separate votes in both houses of the Diet, Japan's parliament. In each chamber, if no nominee wins a majority in the first round, a runoff will be held between the top two vote-getters. The choice in the lower house will prevail in the event of a split decision.

To consolidate her votes amid political flux, Takaichi held negotiations with several opposition parties, including the Democratic Party for the People and the JIP. With the LDP's new coalition partner JIP ultimately deciding to back her, she was able to effectively lock in her victory on Tuesday's voting.

In the 465-member House of Representatives, Takaichi secured 237 ballots in the first round, defeating head of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party Yoshihiko Noda with 149 votes and other rival candidates.

However, no candidate secured a majority in the first round of the vote in the 248-member House of Councillors. Takaichi led with 123 votes, followed by Noda with 44. As a result, an unprecedented runoff for the upper chamber, the first in 13 years, was triggered between Takaichi and Noda, with Takaichi ultimately winning the race.

In the new cabinet line-up, Takaichi offered major posts to her four rivals in October's LDP leadership race, signaling her intention to build party unity and ensure policy stability. Shinjiro Koizumi will take the post of defense minister, while Toshimitsu Motegi will return as foreign minister.

The two others are Yoshimasa Hayashi, who will be tapped as internal affairs and communications minister, and Takayuki Kobayashi, already appointed as the LDP's policy chief.

Among other key government positions is Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, a former defense minister.

ROCKY NEW ALLIANCE

The leaderships of the LDP and the JIP met Monday evening in Tokyo to formally sign the coalition agreement. Unlike the long-standing partnership model between the LDP and Komeito, the new coalition will take a relatively loose form, with the JIP expected not to take cabinet posts for the time being.

According to media reports, Takaichi had offered "several ministerial posts" to the JIP, a move that would deepen her commitment to the coalition, but the party declined the offer on the grounds of "lack of governance experience," apparently reflecting JIP's cautious stance.

This move is widely seen as a "disengagement strategy" by the JIP. It is believed that the JIP intends to maintain a certain distance from the LDP in order to be able to withdraw at any time when there are policy differences or changes in public opinion.

If it joined the cabinet, it would share responsibility for the budget bills and major policies, while remaining outside the cabinet would allow it to draw a clear line when necessary and avoid taking on political risks.

Meanwhile, the JIP's performance in both last year's lower house and this year's upper house elections fell short of expectations, jeopardizing its position as the "third-largest party" after the LDP and the Constitutional Democratic Party. Moreover, a series of recent departures from the party by lawmakers have weakened its internal cohesion. The Asahi Shimbun reported that LDP top leaders are concerned that a lack of stability within the JIP could affect the sustainability of their cooperation.

Regarding policy implementation, the Nikkei pointed out that the LDP-JIP alliance still falls short of a majority in both houses in the Diet, posing great uncertainty for policy implementation. This is particularly true given JIP's inclusion of reducing the number of Diet seats as a "nonnegotiable condition" for the alliance. Despite the LDP agreeing to parliamentary seat cuts, there is strong resistance within both the ruling and opposition parties. If this key proposition proves difficult to realize, "the prerequisite for the alliance may have already been undermined from the outset."