TOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the smaller Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, have broadly agreed to form a coalition government, setting the stage for the country's first female prime minister, Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday. LDP leader Sanae Takaichi and Hirofumi Yoshimura, head of the right-leaning Ishin, are set to sign an agreement on their alliance on Monday, Kyodo said. Ishin lawmakers will vote for Takaichi in an election to choose the next prime minister on Tuesday, but the party does not plan to send ministers to a new cabinet initially, the news agency also said. Takaichi's path to succeed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba had seemed all but certain until the LDP's junior partner, Komeito, quit their 26-year coalition this month, setting off a flurry of negotiations with rival parties to select the next premier. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by William Mallard)
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