After a series of twists and turns, Takahashi Hayato finally achieved her goal. According to the Japanese Kyodo News Agency, on the afternoon of October 21st local time, Takahashi Hayato was elected as the 104th Prime Minister of Japan in the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors' prime ministerial designation election, becoming the first female prime minister in Japanese history.
Although she barely passed this time, Takahashi Hayato faces multiple challenges ahead, including the breakdown of the ruling coalition, insufficient parliamentary seats, and a weak foundation within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
In addition, US President Trump plans to visit Japan at the end of October, which will be the first major summit that Takahashi Hayato will face after assuming the role of Prime Minister. According to Japanese media reports, during this meeting, Trump is expected to ask Japan to genuinely fulfill the $550 billion investment agreement with the US, which was pledged under the previous Ishikawa government, conditional on tariff reductions, and may also make specific demands on investments in areas such as energy to Japan.
How to deal with Trump and his tariff policies will be the first "big test" for Takahashi Hayato's political ability and diplomatic skills.
On October 21, Takahashi Hayato was elected as the new Prime Minister of Japan NHK
Takahashi's cabinet formation is initially determined, but the coalition power still faces obstacles from the House of Councillors
Regarding cabinet appointments, on the morning of the 21st, at the LDP senior leadership meeting, Takahashi Hayato made the final coordination on the new cabinet personnel arrangements scheduled for the afternoon. According to the results of the meeting discussion, the Chief Cabinet Secretary is expected to be taken by former Defense Minister Kiwaki Minoru (56 years old); the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry will be assigned by the current Minister for Economic Revitalization, Akizawa Ryoji (64 years old); Koizumi Shinsaku (44 years old) will serve as the Minister of Defense; Shiozaki Toshimitsu (70 years old) will become the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Hayashi Fumio (64 years old) has been confirmed as the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Although Takahashi Hayato successfully maintained the surface consensus among various factions within the LDP through the coordination of cabinet appointments, the political structure of the coalition government still has obstacles. In the House of Councillors, although Takahashi Hayato was smoothly elected as the Prime Minister of Japan, the combined number of seats of the LDP and the Komeito party in the House of Councillors is only 119, which is still not enough to reach the threshold of 125 seats required for a majority. If it cannot secure the support of the opposition parties, even if the LDP-Komeito coalition government has been launched, the "split between the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors" may still impose certain constraints on the policy implementation of the coalition government.
According to the Japanese Constitution, ordinary proposals need to be passed by both houses to take effect. If the House of Councillors rejects them, the House of Representatives can overturn them through "re-voting," but this requires a two-thirds majority, not a simple majority.
On the evening of October 20th local time, the leaders of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party and the Japanese Restoration Party signed a joint ruling agreement, reaching consensus on several key policies. The agreement includes reducing the number of seats in the House of Representatives by 10% (approximately 46 seats), completely resolving the issue of political donations of the LDP during Takahashi's term, submitting the Osaka "second capital" related bill at the regular session of the Diet in January next year, and reducing the food consumption tax rate to zero within two years. These contents are all "absolute requirements" listed by the Japanese Restoration Party for the coalition government.
At the same time, both sides agreed to establish a joint drafting group to discuss specific negotiations on amending Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, i.e., the liberation of collective self-defense rights, as well as adding emergency clauses. Regarding strengthening military equipment, the two parties plan to accelerate the deployment of long-range missiles capable of retaliation on land, and promote the development of a new generation of long-range submarines equipped with vertical launch systems.
On October 20, Takahashi Hayato shook hands with Yoshimura Hiroyuki after signing the agreement Kyodo News Agency
Takahashi Hayato: Representative of the far-right, successor of Abe
The 64-year-old Takahashi Hayato is one of the representatives of right-wing politicians in Japan, known for her extremely conservative positions.
Takahashi has a rich political career, having been elected to the House of Representatives ten times, with her electoral district being Nara 2nd District. In 1993, she was first elected to the House of Representatives as an independent, and joined the LDP in 1996. She has served as Minister for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, Director of the Policy Research Council of the LDP, Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Minister for Economic Security.
Takahashi is a loyal supporter of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, and is a firm inheritor of the "Abe line." She is called "Abe's favorite general." Kyodo News has evaluated her as a persuasive conservative who inherits the Abe line.
In terms of domestic issues, Takahashi proposed a shift towards an active fiscal policy and increasing defense spending. She also said that if elected, she would consider expanding the framework of the ruling coalition to deal with the situation where the LDP and Komeito ruling coalition lost majority seats in both chambers of the Diet. On foreign relations, she emphasized strengthening the Japan-US alliance, while also deepening cooperation with Japan, South Korea, and Japan, the Philippines.
In terms of Sino-Japanese relations, Takahashi has repeatedly publicly visited the Yasukuni Shrine, denied the history of the Nanjing Massacre, and promoted the "China threat theory." During the campaign, on October 1st, Takahashi published an article in the US think tank "Hudson Institute," making baseless comments on the Taiwan issue.
Lately, Japanese public opinion has analyzed that Takahashi has gained support from conservative groups due to her far-right policy proposals, but her "extreme right posture" could also become a disadvantage. Some media have noticed that recently, Takahashi has focused on talking about her economic policies in press conferences and avoided making excessive extreme statements.
When asked whether she would continue to visit the Yasukuni Shrine if she became Prime Minister, she stated in the campaign that she would consider the impact on diplomacy and "make a proper judgment as appropriate, and absolutely not let it become a diplomatic issue." Regarding Sino-Japanese relations, Takahashi emphasized, "There are unresolved matters in economic security and national defense between Japan and China, and we will conduct sincere dialogue."
To win votes, Takahashi frequently made rumors during the election period, causing public controversy.
In previous speeches, Takahashi used the deer in her hometown of Nara as an example, stating that incidents of harassment by foreigners were frequent, repeating the claims that "foreigners kick deer" and "police do not prosecute foreigners due to lack of interpreters." She emphasized the need for stricter foreigner management policies.
Trump "presses for investment" knocks on the door before the Prime Minister's seat is warm
Additionally, it is worth noting that on the evening of October 20th local time, US President Trump told an interview that he would "soon visit Japan" and clearly announced that this would be his first visit to Japan during his second term. The Japanese side expects the visit to be from October 27th to 29th.
According to a report by Kyodo News on the 21st, during his visit to Japan, Trump will hold talks with the newly appointed Prime Minister Takahashi Hayato. At that time, he will ask Japan to genuinely fulfill the $55 billion investment agreement with the US, which was pledged under the previous Ishikawa government, conditional on tariff reductions, and may also make specific demands on investments in areas such as energy to Japan.
The Prime Minister's position hasn't even warmed up, and Trump has come knocking to "press for investment." Compared to the headache of fulfilling the promise to the Restoration Party, Takahashi Hayato may enjoy the formal meeting with Trump as the Prime Minister for the first time. For this reason, Takahashi even specifically retained Akizawa Ryoji, who has "eight visits to the US," as the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry. For the first joint ruling of the LDP and the Restoration Party, as well as Takahashi Hayato herself, whether they can leave a good first impression on Trump is indeed very important.
This article is an exclusive work of Observer Network, and it is not allowed to be reprinted without permission.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563546625516339753/
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