Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his cabinet will resign on Tuesday, clearing the way for an election for a new prime minister, with new Liberal Democratic Party president Sanae Takaichi expected to win the vote, Kyodo News reported.
Ishiba held an extraordinary cabinet meeting in the morning of the same day, and all cabinet members submitted their resignations.
Japan’s parliament is scheduled to elect a new prime minister later in the day.
Takaichi is a potential candidate to become Japan’s first female prime minister after the Japan Restoration Party (JIP) and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party signed an agreement to form a coalition government on Monday.
Takaichi, a staunch conservative, has the support of 196 Liberal Democratic Party members, but the prime minister needs at least 233 votes in the 465-member House of Representatives.
With the addition of 35 votes from the National Party, Takaichi’s number of votes rapidly increased to 231.
The 64-year-old conservative will need four votes in the 248-seat Senate, in addition to JIP’s 19 votes, to win the election.
The main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party, has 148 seats, the Democratic Party of the People has 27 seats, and the Liberal Democratic Party’s former ally, Komeito, has the support of 24 members.
MNA/