If China has a favorite in the battle to be Japan’s next prime minister, it’s probably not Sanae Takaichi.
The former internal affairs minister has sought to stand out in the four-way race to lead Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party with hawkish policies toward Japan’s powerful neighbor and top trading partner. Among other things, she held an online meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen and expressed a willingness to deploy U.S. intermediate-range missiles in Japan.
While Takaichi lacks the popularity of rivals Fumio Kishida and Taro Kono and is a longshot in the LDP election Wednesday, she’s one of two women in the race and enjoys the backing of her former boss, ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Her candidacy underscores increasing concern in Tokyo about Beijing’s intentions and illustrates the risk of renewed tensions between the world’s second- and third-largest economies.
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