Party member Sanae Takaichi speaks before a runoff election during the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election on September 27, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan.
With Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressing his intention to resign, the race to become the country's next leader has been thrown wide open.
Various names have been bandied around to see who would succeed Ishiba, but two prominent names have emerged: former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi and current agriculture minister Shinjiro Koizumi.
Neither has formally announced a run, but political risk consultancy Eurasia Group said both are expected to enter the contest to replace Ishiba.
A Nikkei opinion poll last month showed Takaichi leading with 23% support, while Koizumi had 22%. If elected, Takaichi would be the first woman to helm the world's fourth-largest economy.
When asked if Japan was ready for a female prime minister, Tomohiko Taniguchi, former special adviser to the cabinet under the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" that voters are more ready for a female leader than many assume.
"It's just about time for Japan to have the first female prime minister, and I think it's in line with the changes that have happened over the last 10, 15 years," he noted, adding that "female labor participation in Japan is bigger in number than it is in the United States."
About 85% of Japanese women aged between 25 and 54 years were working, compared with 78% in the U.S, according to the latest data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Takaichi ran against Ishiba in last year's Liberal Democratic Party leadership race and led in the first round before losing in the runoff.
She later distanced herself from Ishiba's government, not taking up any role in the cabinet and refusing his offer to chair the key LDP General Council.