Japan’s ruling conservative party has elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning the 64-year-old to be Japan’s first female prime minister. If confirmed as prime minister, one of Takaichi’s key challenges will be uniting the party after a turbulent few years which saw it rocked by scandals and internal conflicts. “But like Thatcher she’s not much of a healer. She’s also a regular visitor of the controversial Yasukuni shrine where Japan’s war dead including some convicted war criminals are memorialised. She will likely be confirmed by parliament, although not automatically like her predecessors because the ruling party is in a much weaker position now having lost its majority in both houses.