And while the LDP has ruled Japan almost continuously for the last 30 years, it’s now in a precarious position as it prepares to vote for a new party leader on Saturday – mired in scandal, widely unpopular, and abandoned by longtime supporters who have instead flocked to new right-wing parties.

By Mariko Katsumura and Tim Kelly TOKYO (Reuters) -Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan's first female prime minister on Tuesday, shattering a political glass ceiling for women and setting the country up for a decisive turn to the right.

Japan's new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi faces significant foreign policy challenges just days after taking office

Takaichi replaces Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, ending a three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the Liberal Democratic Party’s disastrous election loss in July.View on euronews

Japan ranks low in gender equality among developed nations. The first woman to lead the country is an ultraconservative who cites Margaret Thatcher as a role model. She also loves heavy metal.

Sanae Takaichi, the newly-elected head of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, held coalition talks on Thursday with leaders of the right-

Japan’s parliament on Tuesday elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first female prime minister, ending a three-month power struggle after disastrous election losses in July for the governing Liberal Democratic Party.

Sanae Takaichi, a fan of Iron Maiden, had an improbable rise to power. Like her mentor, Shinzo Abe, she is expected to lead Japan to the right.

Trump is teaming with allies like Japan’s Sanae Takaichi to advance a global realignment that will help make America great again, even as it makes their own nations greater as well.

Victory of Takaichi, Japan's 104th prime minister, marks a pivotal moment for a country where men still hold overwhelming sway