Japan appears poised to elect its first female prime minister as hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi gains crucial support from the right-wing Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), with the anticipated coalition driving Tokyo's Nikkei stock index to jump more than 2% to record highs in early Monday trading.
Ishin lawmakers scheduled a meeting for 2 p.m. (0500 GMT) Monday to formally discuss forming a coalition with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), followed by direct talks between Takaichi and Ishin leaders Fumitake Fujita and Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura to finalize the alliance.
Fujita indicated on Sunday that "the relationship of trust is deepening substantially" after senior party officials met, with Japanese media reporting that parties had already agreed to the alliance behind closed doors pending an official announcement following Monday's meeting.
The cooperation agreement would deliver a combined 231 seats in parliament's dominant lower house, falling just two seats short of an outright majority but providing sufficient support for Takaichi to likely win Tuesday's parliamentary vote to become Japan's next prime minister.
Under parliamentary rules, Takaichi will only need a majority of ballots cast rather than a majority of all members in any potential runoff vote, making her path to becoming Japan's first female premier increasingly certain as the historic coalition takes shape.
