Buenos Aires, February 18 (NA) -- Sanae Takaichi, president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), was elected as the country's 105th prime minister by lawmakers in Parliament on Wednesday. The House of Representatives and the House of Councillors held separate votes to appoint the head of government during an extraordinary session of the Diet. According to the Argentine News Agency, in the House of Representatives vote, Takaichi received 354 votes in the first round, defeating the leader of the main opposition force, the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA), Junya Ogawa, who secured 50 votes. Meanwhile, the House of Councillors held a second round after no majority was reached in the first round. In the decisive vote, Takaichi received 125 votes, compared to the 65 obtained by Ogawa. Additionally, the Lower House elected Eisuke Mori, a veteran LDP lawmaker and former Justice Minister, as its president, and Keiichi Ishii, a member of the CRA, as vice president. Takaichi and her cabinet resigned en masse on Wednesday morning, as stipulated by the Constitution, prior to the formation of her new Executive, scheduled for today.
