Sanae Takaichi has been elected Japan\u2019s prime minister by parliament, making her the first woman to hold the office.<\/p>\n
The 64-year-old won a clear majority on Tuesday \u2013 237 votes in the powerful Lower House and another 125 in the Upper House \u2013 as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).<\/p>\n
A staunch conservative and admirer of the late former British PM Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi takes over at a challenging economic moment as Japan grapples with rising cost-of-living and a frustrated public.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also been an uncertain time for the world\u2019s fourth-largest economy. She is the fourth PM in just five years, after her predecessors\u2019 terms were cut short by plunging ratings and scandals.<\/p>\n
Although she defeated four men to win the LDP race in early October, her path to the top job appeared to be blocked when the LDP\u2019s long-time coalition partner, the Komeito party, withdrew support.<\/p>\n
But a last-minute deal with another opposition party \u2013 the right- leaning Japan Innovation Party (JIP), known as Ishin \u2013 saved her. She and the LDP will face voters next in 2028.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile aside from domestic challenges, she faces tricky relationships abroad. South Korea, which had started to mend historically delicate ties with Japan, is wary because of her right-wing politics, which lean nationalist. And, like some of her predecessors, including the late former PM Shinzo Abe, she is seen as hawkish when it comes to an increasingly powerful China.<\/p>\n
But the most important relationship is with the US and a test is around the corner \u2013 a meeting with US President Donald Trump next week.<\/p>\n
While both sides have reached a tariff deal, Trump\u2019s past comments questioning the value of a security treaty between them and demanding Tokyo pay more for defence have raised concerns \u2013 Takaichi must navigate these alongside an unpredictable US administration.<\/p>\n
At the age of 64, Takaichi is no stranger to Japanese politics.<\/p>\n
A known ally of Abe, she has held several ministerial roles over her career and has run for the PM job before.<\/p>\n
She was elected LDP leader after former PM and LDP leader Shigeru Ishiba resigned following major losses in midterm elections.<\/p>\n
Nicknamed the \u201cIron Lady\u201d for her admiration of Thatcher, Takaichi is known for conservative views, including her opposition to same-sex marriage and a growing demand to allow married women to keep their maiden surnames.<\/p>\n
This has made some young women sceptical of the significance of her win.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s like, \u2018Wow, she\u2019s the first female prime minister in Japanese history and that\u2019s a great opportunity for women\u2019s empowerment\u2019,\u201d said 21-year-old student Ayda Ogura.<\/p>\n
\u201c[But] 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
During her recent campaign she proposed expanded hospital services for women\u2019s health and giving household support workers greater recognition.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sanae Takaichi has been elected Japan\u2019s prime minister by parliament, making her the first woman to hold the office. The 64-year-old won a clear majority on Tuesday \u2013 237 votes in the powerful Lower House and another 125 in the Upper House \u2013 as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). A staunch conservative […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123480\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}