Sixty-four-year-old Sanae Takaichi was on Saturday elected the new leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), following a run-off against a male contender, Shinjiro Koizumi. 

Ms Takaichi, an ultra-conservative and former economic security minister,  known for describing former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher as a role model, will become Japan’s first female prime minister, assuming the position amid a political economy struggling with inflation and staggering wages.

The East Asian country also contends with regional tension, intolerable living crisis, high public debt, aging population and public discomfort over what many citizens decry as inadequate migration regulations.

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for carving out this new era for the Liberal Democratic Party. We will forge a more spirited and vibrant party,” Ms Takaichi reacted to her victory.

Expected to be confirmed by the parliament, she will head the country’s cabinet and exercise control over foreign policies, defence, economy and administration of the third largest economy in the world.

The new LDP leader will replace Shigeru Ishiba, who tendered his resignation in September, less than a year after taking office, linking reasons for the decision to electoral losses of his party in the upper and lower legislative houses, internal pressure from fellow party members and the need to preserve the Liberal Democratic Party’s unity.