Sanae Takaichi, president of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party , was elected as Japan's 105th prime minister on Wednesday (February 18) through a prime ministerial nomination election held by the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors.
Xinhua News Agency reported that the Japanese government held a cabinet meeting on the afternoon of the 18th, and the entire first Takaichi cabinet resigned . Subsequently, the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors held separate elections for prime minister.
In the House of Representatives prime ministerial nomination election, Sanae Takaichi received 354 votes out of 464 valid votes; in the House of Councillors prime ministerial nomination election, after two rounds of voting, Sanae Takaichi ultimately received 125 votes out of 246 votes.
Sanae Takaichi will next begin forming a new cabinet. The new cabinet will be formally established on the evening of the 18th, following the appointment ceremony of the prime minister and the at attestation of cabinet ministers at the Imperial Palace.
Sanae Takaichi was elected president of the Liberal Democratic Party on October 4 last year and was elected Japan's 104th prime minister on October 21. On January 23 this year, Takaichi and all cabinet members held a cabinet meeting and passed a resolution to dissolve the House of Representatives, which was subsequently dissolved.
On February 8, Japan held its House of Representatives election . The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) saw a significant increase in seats compared to before the election, exceeding two-thirds of the total seats in the House of Representatives. The Japanese Constitution stipulates that the Diet must convene within 30 days of the House of Representatives election to elect a prime minister.
Source: [Lianhe Zaobao] (https://www.zaobao.com/news/world/story20260218-8550048)