American Marconi Wireless News - New deal puts Takaichi on track to be Japan's first woman PM: reports

Takaichi became leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) earlier this month, but her bid to become premier was derailed by the collapse of her ruling coalition.

Since then, the LDP has been working to cobble together a different alliance, putting her chances back on track.

Takaichi and her counterpart Hirofumi Yoshimura from the reformist, right-leaning opposition Japan Innovation Party (JIP) are set to sign a coalition agreement on Monday, Kyodo News reported Sunday, citing unnamed senior officials from both parties.

The Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper also said Takaichi and Yoshimura were "likely to sign a coalition agreement after talks on Monday", citing unnamed party sources.

The reports come after the LDP's junior partner, the Komeito party, left the ruling coalition after 26 years, plunging Japan into a political crisis.

The fragmented opposition appears to have failed to agree a common joint candidate for premier.

An alliance between LDP and JIP could lead to Takaichi's election as premier on Tuesday, but they are still two seats shy of a majority in the powerful lower house of the two-chamber parliament.

Should the vote go to a second-round runoff, however, Takaichi would only need support from more MPs than the other candidate.

All the political wrangling comes just days before the expected arrival of US President Donald Trump at the end of this month.

Trump will travel to Japan before the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.

Senior officials from the two parties agreed Friday in Tokyo that the LDP would strive to realise the JIP's proposals to lower the consumption tax rate on food to zero from the current level of up to 10 percent, and to abolish corporate and organisational donations, Kyodo News reported.

The LDP also accepted Yoshimura's demand to cut the number of parliament seats, which he has called a "non-negotiable condition" for entering the coalition, it said.

If Takaichi becomes the new prime minister, the JIP will not hold a ministerial post but one of her special advisors will be chosen from the party, TV Asahi said.

However, the Yomiuri reported Yoshimura would make a final decision on whether to join the Takaichi cabinet taking a ministerial post or just to cooperate from outside the cabinet.

Officials of the LDP and the JIP could not be immediately reached to comment on the reports to AFP.

P.Costa--AMWN