Sanae Takaichi may have improved her chances of being elected prime minister after gaining an agreement from Nippon Ishin (Japan Innovation Party) to start policy discussions with her Liberal Democratic Party.

If the discussions, set to begin on Oct. 16, go smoothly, the LDP and Nippon Ishin could form a coalition government.

Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of Nippon Ishin, said his party would vote for Takaichi as prime minister in the Diet if a consensus is reached on policy issues.

Takaichi, the LDP president, and Yoshimura reached the agreement on the policy talks during a meeting on Oct. 15, a day that saw a flurry of activity among political parties.

Lawmakers are expected to elect the successor to outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during an extraordinary Diet session to be convened on Oct. 21.

The LDP does not hold a majority in either chamber of the Diet. And Takaichi lost potential votes after Komeito on Oct. 10 said it was leaving the LDP-led coalition.

The LDP holds 196 seats in the Lower House, while Nippon Ishin has 35 seats. The combined 231 seats are still slightly short of a 233-seat majority in the chamber.

However, Takaichi’s chances of being elected prime minister would significantly increase if Nippon Ishin votes for her or someone different from a candidate backed by other major opposition parties.

The Oct. 15 meeting, which was arranged at the LDP’s initiative, was also attended by Fumitake Fujita, Nippon Ishin’s co-representative.

After the one-hour meeting, Takaichi told reporters, “I asked for cooperation, including the possibility of forming a coalition.”

She said the LDP and Nippon Ishin agreed that she and Fujita, along with policy chiefs from the two parties, will begin policy discussions on Oct. 16.

Takaichi said she believes the two parties are “largely aligned on fundamental policies,” and that her request for votes in the Diet was based “on the sense of sharing responsibility for governing together.”

Yoshimura, for his part, told reporters that Takaichi had sounded him out about cooperation in the Diet vote, “including the possibility of a coalition.”

He also noted that the LDP and Nippon Ishin share many common positions on fundamental policies, such as diplomacy, national security and constitutional revision.

Nippon Ishin’s platform centers on two main pillars: a “secondary capital” initiative to provide backup for the functions of the nation’s capital, and social security reform, including reducing social insurance premiums for the working-age population.

Yoshimura, who also serves as Osaka governor, said Takaichi had expressed support for these two policy goals.

“We judged that there is a foundation for conducting policy discussions,” he said.

He also said the two parties will also discuss issues related to “money in politics” scandals. Nippon Ishin has called for a ban on political donations from companies and organizations, something staunchly opposed by the LDP.

Although an LDP-Nippon Ishin coalition would still not hold a majority in either Diet chamber, the parties would be able to pass budget and other bills by securing support from a handful of opposition lawmakers.

On Oct. 15, Takaichi also met with Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, seeking cooperation in the Diet vote to elect the prime minister.

The DPP has been seen as a possible coalition partner with the LDP.

Tamaki later told reporters, “Rather than jumping straight into a coalition, a form of cooperation would emerge if we can build a relationship of trust.”

Before the talks with Takaichi on Oct. 15, Fujita attended a three-way party leaders’ meeting with Yoshihiko Noda, head of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, and Tamaki to discuss opposition cooperation.

Yoshimura did not attend that meeting.

The CDP has been calling for major opposition parties to unite behind a single candidate for the Diet vote on the new prime minister to wrest power from the LDP.

The three parties agreed to continue discussions among their secretaries-general.

But Fujita later told reporters, “We cannot work together unless we have a just cause (for cooperation).”

Separately, Tamaki indicated after the meeting that there remains a considerable gap in policies between the DPP and the CDP.