TOKYO: Komeito, the junior partner in Japan’s ruling coalition, announced on Friday it was leaving the alliance with the Liberal Democratic Party.
This development raises serious questions about whether Sanae Takaichi, who became head of the LDP less than a week ago, will become Japan’s first woman prime minister.
“We want the LDP-Komeito coalition to go back to the drawing board for now and bring an end to our relationship,“ Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito said.
Media reports indicated Saito told Takaichi that her answers regarding the LDP’s recent slush fund scandal were unsatisfactory.
Takaichi’s appointment by parliament as prime minister, replacing Shigeru Ishiba, had been expected to take place later this month. – AFP
