Japan’s Parliament elected Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first female prime minister, with stocks hitting record highs in response to the right-winger’s win.
Takaichi faces a tough in-tray both domestically and internationally: Inflation is above the central bank’s target, while economic growth has cooled amid global trade uncertainty. Topping Takaichi’s foreign to-do list is wooing US President Donald Trump at a Tokyo summit this month.
Though Trump praised Takaichi’s election to lead her party as “tremendous news for the incredible people of Japan,” he has also recently threatened steep tariffs on the country, which relies on the US as its biggest export market.