Sanae Takaichi, the new president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who won the party's leadership election on the 4th, stated that "there is a mountain of work to be done" and that "many policies need to be implemented quickly."

Sanae Takaichi. EPA Yonhap News. 

After winning the LDP presidential election held on the afternoon of the same day, defeating Shinjiro Koizumi, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the new president Takaichi expressed her aspirations, saying, "Rather than feeling happy, the real challenge starts now."

She emphasized, "I myself will abandon the term 'work-life balance'," and declared, "I will work, work, work, work, and work."

She also stated, "I will transform the anxieties of many people into hope," and pledged to do her utmost to revitalize the LDP.

Regarding her predecessor, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, President Takaichi said, "I pay my respects for paving the way for the establishment of a disaster management agency and regional revitalization."

She is expected to succeed Prime Minister Ishiba and be inaugurated as the new prime minister after the prime ministerial election in a special parliamentary session, which is anticipated to be held around the 15th.

In Japan, which has a parliamentary cabinet system, a change in the ruling party's leader is followed by a procedure to elect a new prime minister in the Diet.

Despite the Diet being in a situation where the ruling party has fewer seats than the opposition, local media reports indicate that the opposition parties are divided, making it highly probable that the new LDP president, as the largest party, will win the prime ministerial election.

Yonhap News