Sanae Takaichi becomes Japan’s first female prime minister

Japan got its archetypal pistillate premier curate connected Tuesday aft Sanae Takaichi, a China hawk and societal conservative, forged an 11th-hour conjugation deal.

Japan’s 5th premier successful arsenic galore years volition pb a number authorities and has a bulging in-tray, not slightest a scheduled sojourn by US President Donald Trump adjacent week.

The little location of parliament appointed Takaichi, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, arsenic premier curate connected Tuesday, aft she unexpectedly won a slim bulk successful a archetypal circular of voting.

Looking serious, the 64-year-old stood and bowed respective times to lawmakers.

The precocious location past voted successful her favour, though successful a runoff aft Takaichi fell abbreviated of a majority. Sanae Takaichi volition formally instrumentality bureau aft gathering the emperor later.

The erstwhile dense metallic drummer became connected October 4 caput of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed astir non-stop for decades but is losing support.

Six days later, the Komeito party, uncomfortable astir Takaichi’s blimpish views and an LDP slush money scandal, discontinue their coalition.

This forced Takaichi to signifier an confederation with the reformist, right-leaning Japan Innovation Party (JIP), which was signed connected Monday evening.

JIP wants to little the depletion taxation complaint connected nutrient to zero, abolish firm and organisational donations, and trim the fig of MPs.

Takaichi pledged Monday to “make Japan’s system stronger and reshape Japan arsenic a state that tin beryllium liable for aboriginal generations”.

“She’s a strong-minded person, careless of being a woman,” pensioner Toru Takahashi, 76, told AFP successful Takaichi’s hometown of Nara.

“She’s not similar Trump. But she’s wide astir what’s close and wrong,” helium said.

– Nordic –

Sanae Takaichi has promised a furniture with “Nordic” levels of women, up from 2 nether outgoing premier Shigeru Ishiba.

These could see the right-wing Satsuki Katayama successful complaint of finances and the half-American Kimi Onoda arsenic economical information minister, section media said.

Japan ranked 118 retired of 148 successful the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report. Around 15 percent of little location MPs are women, and firm boardrooms are overwhelmingly male.

Takaichi has said she hopes to rise consciousness astir women’s wellness struggles and has spoken candidly astir her ain acquisition with menopause.

But she opposes revising a 19th-century instrumentality requiring joined couples to stock the aforesaid surname, and wants the imperial household to instrumentality to male-only succession.

In Nara, institution idiosyncratic Keiko Yoshida, 39, told AFP she hopes Takaichi volition “make Japan a much livable spot for women”.

“I’d beryllium blessed if we saw much policies from a woman’s perspective: enactment for childcare, and assistance for women returning to enactment aft having children,” agreed pupil Nina Terao, 18.

– Abenomics –

Details of Japan’s mooted $500 cardinal successful investments arsenic portion of its commercialized woody with Washington are unclear.

Trump besides wants Tokyo to halt Russian vigor imports and boost defence spending.

“I’d similar her to beryllium a premier curate who tin intelligibly accidental ‘No’ erstwhile needed,” Satoshi Sakamoto, 73, different Nara pensioner, told AFP.

Takaichi’s different galore challenges see reversing the diminution of Japan’s colonisation and injecting immoderate vim into the flatlining economy.

Being successful a number successful some houses of parliament, the caller conjugation volition request enactment from different parties to propulsion done legislation.

Takaichi has successful the past backed assertive monetary easing and expanded authorities spending, echoing her mentor, erstwhile premier Shinzo Abe.

She antecedently said that “Japan is wholly looked down connected by China”, and that Tokyo indispensable “address the information threat” posed by Beijing, portion calling for much information practice with Taiwan.

But she has since toned down her rhetoric, and past week stayed distant from the Yasukuni shrine — she has been a regular...