Sanae Takaichi wins runoff vote in LDP leadership race

It looks like history won’t repeat itself from last year, as Sanae Takaichi comes out on top in this year’s runoff vote. She is now set to become Japan’s first ever female prime minister in taking over from Shigeru Ishiba, who has lost his standing after the dismal July upper house election results.

As mentioned yesterday, Takaichi is often dubbed as Shinzo Abe’s protégé and is a firm believer of pushing for a return of “Abenomics”. If she does maintain her conviction in economic and policy matters, that could mean having to lock heads with the BOJ. From the day before:

“Takaichi is often dubbed as Shinzo Abe’s protégé and has a firm agenda of pushing for a return of “Abenomics”. The current government has a more strict approach on the fiscal side of things but Takaichi will be one to pursue a more pro-stimulus approach. So, that is one to look out for.

And at the same time, that could see her call for monetary policy to also stay looser which is a departure from what the BOJ has been pushing for in recent times.

So, the potential “conflict” here is one to watch out for if Takaichi does indeed win out in the vote tomorrow.”