Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi has been elected Japan's first female prime minister after a whirlwind few weeks of political wrangling.

Outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Oct. 10 released a statement of personal reflections to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II by posing a tantalizing question: “Why couldn’t Japan avoid that war?

TOKYO - Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned with his cabinet on Tuesday, marking an end to the administration that took office just over a year ago. At an extraordinary cabinet meeting held shortly before 9 am local time, ministers submitted their letters of resignation, and the Ishiba cabinet formally stepped down.

Passersby in Tokyo on September 7, 2025 watch a TV broadcast reporting that Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba decided to resign as LDP head. Photo: VCG. Japanese Prime Minist

The prime minister pledged to 'do everything we can to protect the lives and the peace of the people of Japan.'

TOKYO (Reuters) -The approval rating for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's cabinet stands at 64.4%, higher than the initial ratings of her predecessors Shigeru Ishiba and Fumio Kishida, a Kyodo news agency poll showed on Wednesday.

Outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba sent a ritual offering to Tokyo's war-linked Yasukuni shrine, regarded by Japan's neighbors as