Respected figure: Margaret Thatcher. Personal goal: To become Japan’s Iron Lady.
It was only after two failed attempts that Sanae Takaichi finally achieved her long-held ambition. In a historic parliamentary vote on 21 October, the 64-year-old was elected Japan’s first female prime minister.
She’s a colourful figure on the right of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who talks tough on immigration and has some conservative views on women’s equality.
A former government minister and TV host, and once a drummer in a heavy metal band, Takaichi will now face the challenge of leading not only a party struggling to regain voter trust after scandals and dealing with the burgeoning far right – but a country tackling a sluggish economy, low birth rates and rising geopolitical tensions.
Takaishi was born in Nara Prefecture in 1961. Her father was an office worker and her mother a police officer. Politics was far removed from her upbringing.
When she played in the band, she was famous for carrying many drum sticks because she would break them during intense performances. She remains a fan of heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden and Deep Purple and she still has an electric drum kit at home, she’s told reporters.
Takaichi was also a scuba diver and a car enthusiast – her beloved Toyota Supra is now displayed in a Nara museum.
Before entering politics, Takaichi worked briefly as a television host.
Her political inspiration came in the 1980s, during the height of US-Japan trade friction. Determined to understand American perceptions of Japan, she worked in the office of Democrat Patricia Schroeder, a congresswoman known for her criticism of Japan.
Takaichi saw Americans mixing up Japanese, Chinese and Korean language and cuisine, observing how Japan was often grouped together with China and South Korea.
“Unless Japan can defend itself, its fate will always be at the mercy of shallow US opinion,” she concluded.
She ran in her first parliamentary election in 1992 as an independent but lost.
She persisted, winning a seat a year later and joining the LDP in 1996. Since then, she has been elected as an MP 10 times, losing only once, and built a reputation as one of the party’s most outspoken conservative voices.
She has also held senior government roles, including minister for economic security, state minister for trade and industry, and a record-breaking tenure as minister for internal affairs and communications.
In 2021, Takaichi first entered the LDP leadership race but lost to Fumio Kishida. She tried again in 2024, this time topping the first round of voting but ultimately losing to Shigeru Ishiba.
This year, on her third attempt, she secured victory and became Japan’s first female prime minister after she was confirmed by parliament.
She told a group of school children during her recent campaign: “My goal is to become the Iron Lady.” Britain’s first female prime minister earned that title through her tough, unbending style and conviction politics.
Takaichi is a staunch conservative who has long opposed legislation allowing married women to keep their maiden names, insisting it undermines tradition. She is also against same sex marriage.
However, she has recently softened her tone. During her campaign she vowed to make babysitter fees partially tax-deductible and proposed corporate tax breaks for companies that provide in-house childcare services.
Her family and personal experiences underpin her policy proposals: expanding hospital services for women’s health, giving household support workers greater recognition, and improving care options for Japan’s ageing society.
“I have personally experienced nursing and caregiving three times in my life,” she said.
“That’s why my determination has only grown stronger to reduce the number of people forced to leave their jobs due to caregiving, child-rearing or children refusing to attend school.
“I want to create a society where people don’t have to give up their careers.”
A protégé of the late Shinzo Abe, she pledged to revive his “Abenomics” economic vision of high public spending and cheap borrowing – in marked contrast to her other idol Baroness Thatcher. Britain’s late leader was famously no fan of higher government spending.
Like Abe, Takaichi is seen as a hawk on foreign policy. She has been a regular visitor to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead including convicted war criminals.
She has also called for easing constitutional restrictions on the country’s Self-Defence Forces, which are forbidden from having offensive capabilities.
Since its foundation in 1955, the LDP has dominated Japanese politics, but it is now losing ground amid frustration with the economy, demographic decline and social discontent.
In electing Takaichi, the LDP is hoping to win back conservative voters who have gravitated towards the far-right Sanseito party.
Sanseito, running on a “Japanese First” slogan, has recently surged from one to 15 seats, drawing away conservative voters. The LDP has lost its majority in both houses of parliament.
Takaichi herself acknowledged the problem in a speech after winning the first round of voting: “We have received particularly harsh criticism from our core supporters, conservatives, and party members.
“The LDP must change for the sake of Japan’s present and future. We will always put the national interest first and manage the country with a sense of balance.”