TOKYO, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi resigned with her cabinet on Wednesday.
Cabinet ministers of the Takaichi administration submitted letters of resignation en masse at a cabinet meeting, which started shortly after 9 a.m. local time, as parliament is set to convene for a new session in the afternoon to elect a new prime minister.
After the vote, the new premier will finalize cabinet appointments, and the chief cabinet secretary is scheduled to announce the lineup.
Takaichi, president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is expected to be reinstated as prime minister, given that her party currently holds more than two-thirds of the seats in the powerful lower house.
With Takaichi's cabinet appointed just months ago in October and the ruling coalition winning the Feb. 8 general election, changes to the lineup are unlikely, local media said. ■