New Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chief Sanae Takaichi's way to become Japan's first female prime minister became uncertain after the ruling party's junior ally Komeito announced to terminate their decades-old coalition on Friday, according to a political expert. Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito had a meeting with Takaichi on Friday afternoon that lasted about one hour and a half. Saito told reporters later that his party will end its 26-year alliance with the LDP, citing the ruling party's "insufficient" response to a high-profile political funds scandal. Takaichi won the LDP presidential election on Oct 4, becoming the ruling party's first female leader and, in all likelihood, the country's first woman prime minister. Following Saito's announcement, Takaichi told reporters that the "unilateral" decision by Komeito was "truly regrettable." The National Diet, Japan's parliament, is set to convene a special session on Oct 15 to elect a new prime minister. For Takaichi to become Japan's first female prime minister, she must be appointed by the Diet. Komeito's breakup means the LDP will need to court opposition parties to vote Takaichi in as Japan's next prime minister. "In this situation, the Liberal Democratic Party will pace up the negotiations on a coalition regime with the Democratic Party for the People (DPP). But the DPP is also very prudent on this point, so this will take time. If the Diet convenes a session at this time and Takashi is to serve as the prime minister, it will be very difficult for the parliament to operate," said Japanese political scholar Noriyuki Kawamura. He said that the LDP lost a large number of seats in both the House of Representatives election last October and the House of Councillors election this July, indicating that the LDP has lost the support of the people. "Japanese voters already expressed their will in the House of Councillors election in July. The Japanese people hope to realize two objectives: First, as prices kept rising over the past two or three years, which has made daily life very hard, they hope for swift solutions to inflation. The other is the issue of 'black money' within the LDP. Takaichi as the newly elected LDP leader has indicated that lawmakers under prosecutors' investigation will continue to function as they were, which completely goes against public expectations. If this is to go on, it might be unlikely to restore public trust. How to settle this issue is crucial," said Kawamura. The video shows: Tokyo, Japan - Oct 4, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Various of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters; sign reading "Liberal Democratic Party headquarters"; security personnel Tokyo, Japan - Oct 10, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Noriyuki Kawamura, political expert (starting with shot 1): "In this situation, the Liberal Democratic Party will pace up the negotiations on a coalition regime with the Democratic Party for the People (DPP). But the DPP is also very prudent on this point, so this will take time. If the Diet convenes a session at this time and Takashi is to serve as the prime minister, it will be very difficult for the parliament to operate." Tokyo, Japan - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 3. National Diet building 4. Sign reading "House of Representatives" 5. Sign reading "House of Councillors" Tokyo, Japan - Oct 10, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Noriyuki Kawamura, political expert (ending with shots 7-13): "Japanese voters already expressed their will in the House of Councillors election in July. The Japanese people hope to realize two objectives: First, as prices kept rising over the past two or three years, which has made daily life very hard, they hope for swift solutions to inflation. The other is the issue of 'black money' within the LDP. Takaichi as the newly elected LDP leader has indicated that lawmakers under prosecutors' investigation will continue to function as they were, which completely goes against public expectations. If this is to go on, it might be unlikely to restore public trust. How to settle this issue is crucial." Tokyo, Japan - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 6. Various of pedestrians, traffic Shizuoka, Japan - June 4, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 7. Various of rice for sale in supermarket Saitama Prefecture, Japan - 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 8. Various of consumers shopping in budget supermarket, vegetables for sale Tokyo, Japan - Aug 14, 2024 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 9. Various of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) headquarters; sign reading "Liberal Democratic Party" Tokyo, Japan - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 10. Sign reading "Liberal Democratic Party" Tokyo, Japan - 2024 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 11. Various of National Diet building, national flag Tokyo, Japan - July 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 12. Various of traffic, pedestrians Tokyo, Japan - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 13. Various of cityscape [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]