Sanae Takaichi elected as Japan's first female prime minister in historic vote

On Tuesday, October 21, the first female prime minister of the country Sanae Takaichi was elected, marking a landmark moment for Japanese politics.

The 64-year-old conservative who has always been a fan of the former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, made her mark in the new governing coalition.

Her triumph is a revolutionary move to a nation where the leadership and major corporate positions have always been dominated by males.

Takaichi’s road to success

Takaichi’s ascent was not straightforward.

Her victory as the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in early October was made difficult as the historic ally of the LDP, Komeito, suddenly broke their 26-year-old alliance with the party, due to ideological difference with her conservative thinking.

This forced Takaichi’ to scramble into a new coalition with the right-based Japan Innovation Party (JIP) to secure a majority in the parliament.

She got 237 votes in the powerful Lower House and 125 in the Upper House on Tuesday, October 21, securing a majority.

This was the third time in which she attempted the LDP leadership and managed to succeed becoming the fourth prime minister of the party in five years.

Who is Sanae Takaichi?

• Background: Born in 1961 in Nara Prefecture, she served as a congressional fellow in the U.S. with Democrat Pat Schroeder and became a TV anchor in Japan before joining politics.
• Personal Life: A big-time heavy metal fan and a drummer. She remarried a fellow lawmaker Taku Yamamoto, who took her surname (which would be considered illegal in Japan).
• Political Identity: A hardcore conservative and successor of the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Her political opinion is termed as ultraconservative and hawkish.
• Key roles: Some of the most important positions she has served include Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications under Abe.
• Stance on domestic policy: She is an apostle of “Abenomics,” supporting loose monetary policy, major government spending on strategic sectors, and fiscal stimulus. Markets have cheered her victory, dubbing it the “Takaichi trade.”
• Foreign Policy views: A known China hawk, she supports a hardline stance and has stated that a “Taiwan emergency is a Japan emergency.” In view of this, she aims to strengthen the US-Japan alliance. Former President Donald Trump has previously hailed her as a “highly respected person of great wisdom."

A landmark for gender equality

The fact that Takaichi is the first woman to hold the office of prime minister is a milestone in the history of Japan since the nation appears to rank 118th among top 46 countries in the global gender gap survey released by the World Economic Forum.

The last government had not fulfilled its 30% leadership target of women by the year 2020.

With this, the triumph of Takaichi is a historic change, although it is yet to be evaluated on how she will utilize her leadership to influence the greater challenge of gender equality in Japan.