Japan’s Ruling Party Forms New Coalition in Win for Takaichi

Japan’s ruling party has forged a new coalition, paving the way for its leader to become the country’s next prime minister.

TOKYO—Japan’s ruling party has forged a new coalition, paving the way for its leader to become the country’s next prime minister.

Leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Sanae Takaichi and the Japan Innovation Party's, known as Ishin, leader Hirofumi Yoshimura meet at Japan's National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan, October 20, 2025.

The move comes just over a week after the Liberal Democratic Party was left politically vulnerable when a longstanding ally exited the coalition. That departure sent the LDP scrambling to find a new partner ahead of a looming vote to decide the next premier.

The party has found one in the center-right Japan Innovation Party, offering relief for the beleaguered LDP, which has suffered a series of setbacks that cost it its majority in both houses of Parliament.

At a meeting Monday with its new partner, LDP leader Sanae Takaichi said she wants to work with the JIP to strengthen Japan’s economy.

“We share the same desire to improve Japan,​” JIP leader Hirofumi Yoshimura said.

Takaichi’s path to the premiership grew uncertain after the LDP’s longtime ally Komeito withdrew from the coalition.​

Electing a new prime minister requires votes in both the upper and lower houses. If no candidate wins a majority in the first round, the top two vote-getters proceed to a runoff. If the two chambers fail to agree, the lower house’s prevails.

Combined, the LDP and the JIP hold 231 seats in the 465-member lower house, just two seats short of a majority.

An extraordinary Diet session is scheduled to be convened Tuesday, when lawmakers are expected to vote to choose the nation’s next prime minister.

The makeup of the new coalition might come as a surprise to some analysts, who had said it might be difficult for the LDP to accept the ban on corporate and organizational political donations advocated by the JIP.

The two parties have agreed to continue discussion about political fundraising restrictions.

The JIP, which emerged from a reform movement in Osaka founded on administrative restructuring and decentralization, has pushed for policies including a social security revamp and designating a second capital as a backup operational and economic hub.

Write to Megumi Fujikawa at megumi.fujikawa@wsj.com