Sanae Takaichi, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has made history by becoming the first woman to head the Government in Japan. Takaichi has been sworn in as prime minister after a vote in the lower house of the Diet (the Japanese Parliament). He will replace Shigeru Ishiba, a party colleague, who is leaving office after just over a year at the head of the world’s fourth largest economy and after having suffered two electoral setbacks.
The new head of the Executive will not have an easy time governing at a time of global uncertainty, trade wars unleashed by her main ally, the United States, and a good handful of domestic fires, ranging from the high cost of living that grips the Japanese to the low birth rate, to the growing rejection of migration. But, beyond the twists and turns that await in the always volatile Japanese politics, her arrival at the top of the Executive has a symbolic power in a society in which between women and men, especially in the political and business spheres. Paradoxically, the chamber that has granted her support has only 16% women.
Takaichi, 64, has been inaugurated thanks to the support of her fellow members and the last-minute pact reached on Monday with the minority Innovation Party (Ishin), also conservative in nature and therefore related to the hard wing of the PLD, of which Takaichi is the main figure. In the lower house she received 237 votes out of 465 seats, four more than she needed, making her the 104th Japanese prime minister.
The new alliance with Ishin has saved an investiture that was in danger after he announced two weeks ago that he was withdrawing his support after 26 years. The opposition, divided into a myriad of formations without a unified voice, has not managed to propose a true alternative government.
The new prime minister is a veteran of Japanese politics. She has been in public office since the nineties, has directed several ministries, including Economic Security and the Interior, and declares herself an admirer of: “My goal is to be the iron lady“, he said during the debates to take over the leadership of the party. “I like his attitude of working with conviction on unpopular policies if he believes they are necessary for the country,” he also said. His outfit this Tuesday, a blue suit jacket and a pearl necklace, had a clear Thatcherite inspiration.
Some analysts see her as a pioneer in a world dominated by men, others believe that she is not going to do much to change things. Citizens also observe it with a mixture of hope and pessimism. Takaichi is not known for being a defender of feminist policies. Although she was Minister of Gender Equality, she opposed changing a law enshrining male imperial succession, and has opposed changing an old law that requires married couples to share the same surname, a symbol of the fight for equality in Japan.
Her arrival, in any case, does mark a turning point in a country where women’s participation in politics is lagging far behind. The current Executive, of 20 members, only has two women. In the , Japan ranks 118th out of 148 countries, the lowest among the G-7 members (in the “political empowerment” category it ranks 125th).
In recent weeks, Takaichi has promised changes, such as forming a Cabinet at the level of the Nordic countries and trying to increase the number of female parliamentarians. She has also spoken publicly about the symptoms of menopause and expressed her desire to support women who are dedicated to family care so that they do not have to abandon their professional careers.
She is considered a hardline nationalist. She intends to review the country’s pacifist constitution, recognize a greater weight of the military, and is a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, another of the thermometers that measure patriotic fervor in Japanese politics. This memorial dedicated to deceased Japanese soldiers is considered by neighboring countries such as China and South Korea as a symbol of the aggressions of the imperial era.
Among their first tasks will be to attend, in a few days, the visit to Japan of the American president, Donald Trump.
Passionate about baseball, in her youth she was a biker and played drums in a heavy metal band. He studied Business Administration. She considers herself the political heir to the , and its financial policies, known as abenomicswho defend a proactive fiscal policy (one in which the Government seeks to boost the economy through fiscal stimuli). It was Abe who first called her in 2006 for a cabinet position.
In 2021, after Abe resigned for health reasons, Takaichi decided to run in the LDP primaries. Although he lost, he tried again in 2024, after Fumio Kishida retired. She was defeated again, this time against the now outgoing Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, whose Government resigned en bloc this early Tuesday, just before the parliamentary vote.
The departure of Ishiba, who has lasted barely a year at the head of the country, was forced by the elites of the LDP, after the formation and its coalition partner, Komeito, until then in the upper house of the Diet. The debacle added to what they had already suffered in the elections of October last year, when they lost the majority in the lower house, with more political weight.
