Japan Elects Sanae Takaichi as First Female Prime Minister

Japan’s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi (Wikimedia Commons)

Japan elected their first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, on October 20. Takaichi will serve as Japan's 104th Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), whose conservative ideals have dominated the country for the past seven years. Takaichi is the fourth Prime Minister in five years and won the election with an overwhelming majority – 237 votes in the Lower House and 125 in the Upper House. 

Prior to her election, Takaichi had run for Prime Minister twice before. Takaichi has been in politics for over three decades, first elected to the Japanese parliament in 1993. According to the New York Times, in Japanese politics, she is known as the protege of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. She served in his cabinet, “making her one of the most visible women in Japanese politics.” The Japanese public has nicknamed her “Iron Lady” for her admiration of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. 

Despite this historic milestone, Takaichi’s conservative politics has made some Japanese citizens uncertain of the country’s future direction, both domestically and internationally. Jeffert Hall, a lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan, said Takaichi is “one of the most conservative people in Japan’s conservative LDP.” 

Most of Takaichi’s policies align with far-right ideology and have been compared to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. Like Trump, Takaichi has expressed a strong opposition to undocumented immigration, advocated for illegal immigration crackdowns, and proposed restrictions on non-Japanese people buying property.

Following the election, Trump congratulated Prime Minister Takaichi on Truth Social, writing “Japan has just elected its first female Prime Minister, a highly respected person of great wisdom and strength. This is tremendous news for the incredible people of Japan. Congratulations to all!”

According to Newsweek, Prime Minister Takaichi has also expressed interest in strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance to “advance a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

Despite being Japan’s first female PM, Takaichi does not necessarily align with feminist ideology or advocate for gender equality policies. Instead, she supports the creation of programs that promote childbirth and opposes allowing women to keep their maiden name after marriage, though she herself kept hers. NBC states Takaichi has also voiced opposition for same-sex marriage and “favors keeping succession to men only in Japan’s shrinking imperial family.” 

However, Takaichi has expressed interest in supporting policy surrounding women’s health, particularly in raising awareness about menopause “so that men can understand when women are struggling, whether at school or in the workplace.” 
Despite this, many women in Japan are unsure what a Takaichi administration means for the advancement of Japanese women. Ayda Ogura, a Japanese student, commented on the idea that Takaichi will be a turning point for Japan. According to BBC, she said, “if you look into her political beliefs and what she stands for, you realise that some of the things are very traditional. Instead of creating structural change, she rather perpetuates the patriarchal system.”