TOKYO, Oct 8 — Japan's likely next premier Sanae Takaichi is already facing criticism from her ruling party's long-time coalition partner, a rift that could delay or, in an extreme scenario, jeopardise her premiership.
Hardline conservative Takaichi, selected by the Liberal Democratic Party as its new head in a weekend vote, held a meeting yesterday with the leader of their moderate partner Komeito to discuss their concerns about some of her positions.
While she is widely expected to win approval in Parliament to become Japan's first female prime minister later this month, it is not guaranteed, as the ruling coalition does not have a majority.
If Komeito splits, Takaichi may seek to broker alliances with other parties, including the fiscally-expansionist Democratic Party for the People (DPP), further fraying investor nerves about one of the world's most indebted countries.
"Everybody does think that Takaichi probably has the upper hand. It is just a matter of how big of a hand that is," said Tokyo-based asset manager Neuberger Berman's managing director Kei Okamura.
A vote in Parliament had been expected to take place on October 15, but is likely to be pushed back as coalition talks rumble on, LDP sources said. United States President Donald Trump is due to visit Japan at the end of the month.
Opposition seeks alternative candidate
Komeito, a socially liberal party affiliated with a lay Buddhist organisation, has been in an alliance with the LDP since 1999 and is often seen as a brake on its more hawkish leanings, such as its step back from pacifism.
It has criticised Takaichi's tough language on foreigners and visits to the Yasakuni Shrine — seen by neighbours as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. Komeito also wants the LDP to take a tougher response to a fundraising scandal that has rocked the party.
After yesterday's talks, Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito told the press he had raised these issues with Takaichi in talks that lasted around 90 minutes, but reached no conclusion.
Meanwhile, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP) has called for other parties to rally behind an alternative candidate for prime minister.
If that happens, CDP's secretary general Jun Azumi said that the DPP's charismatic leader Yuichiro Tamaki, an advocate for major stimulus and tax cuts, would be a strong candidate, as reported by local media today.
Opposition parties can put forward their own candidates when Parliament meets to vote on the next premier.
Any candidate who secures a simple majority in the first round wins approval. If not, a run-off poll follows between the two candidates with the most votes.
However, political analysts note that getting agreement between a disparate band of opposition parties to challenge Takaichi remains a remote possibility.
Takaichi "is almost nailed on", said Temple University in Tokyo's political science associate professor Paul Nadeau.
