{"id":318355,"date":"2025-10-20T10:49:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T10:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/318355\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T10:49:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T10:49:14","slug":"sanae-takaichi-on-track-to-become-japans-first-female-prime-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/318355\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanae Takaichi on track to become Japan’s first female prime minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

TOKYO (AP) \u2014 Japan\u2019s governing party leader, Sanae Takaichi<\/a>, is on track to become the country\u2019s first female prime minister, after finding a badly needed replacement for a crucial partner that left her Liberal Democratic Party\u2019s coalition.<\/p>\n

Takaichi, 64, would replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba<\/a> in Tuesday\u2019s parliamentary vote. If she\u2019s successful, it would end Japan\u2019s three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the coalition\u2019s loss in the July parliamentary election<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The moderate centrist Komeito party<\/a> split from the LDP after a 26-year-long coalition. The move by Komeito came days after Takaichi\u2019s election as president of her party, and it forced her into a desperate search for a replacement to secure votes so that she can become prime minister.<\/p>\n

The Buddhist-backed Komeito left after raising concerns about her ultraconservative politics and the LDP\u2019s lax response to slush fund scandals that led to their consecutive election defeats and loss of majority in both houses.<\/p>\n

While the leaders of the country\u2019s top three opposition parties failed to unite for a change of government, Takaichi went for a quick fix by teaming up with the most conservative of them: The Osaka-based Ishin no Kai, or Japan Innovation Party. But the long-term stability of their cooperation is an unknown.<\/p>\n

The two parties are set to sign a coalition agreement on Monday.<\/p>\n

An eventual Takaichi premiership would be on a cliff edge. The fragile new coalition, still a minority, would need cooperation from other opposition groups to pass any legislation. It would be a risk that could lead to an unstable, short-lived leadership.<\/p>\n

Big diplomatic tests come within days \u2014 talks with U.S. President Donald Trump<\/a> and regional summits. At home, she needs to quickly tackle rising prices and compile economic boosting measures to address the frustrated public.<\/p>\n

Unpopular among women<\/p>\n

An admirer of former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi\u2019s breaking of the glass ceiling makes history in a country whose gender equality ranks poorly<\/a> internationally. <\/p>\n

But many women aren\u2019t celebrating, and some see her impending premiership as a setback. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe prospect of a first female prime minister doesn\u2019t make me happy,\u201d sociologist Chizuko Ueno posted on X. Ueno explained that Takaichi\u2019s leadership would elevate Japan\u2019s gender equality ranking, but \u201cthat doesn\u2019t mean Japanese politics becomes kinder to women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Takaichi, an ultraconservative star of her male-dominated party, is among those who have stonewalled measures for women\u2019s advancement. Takaichi supports the imperial family\u2019s male-only succession<\/a>, opposes same-sex marriage<\/a> and a revision to the civil law allowing separate last names<\/a> for married couples, so women don\u2019t get pressured into abandoning theirs.<\/p>\n

The prospect for a dual system for last names is fading under Takaichi, Ueno says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Takaichi\u2019s policies are extremely hawkish and I doubt she would consider policies to recognize diversity,\u201d said Chiyako Sato, a political commentator and senior writer for the Mainichi newspaper.<\/p>\n

Rising prices and population decline<\/p>\n

If she\u2019s successful in the parliamentary vote, Takaichi would immediately launch her Cabinet on Tuesday and make a policy speech later in the week.<\/p>\n

A protege of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe<\/a>, Takaichi is expected to emulate his economic and security policies. With a potentially weak grip on power, it\u2019s unknown how much Takaichi would be able to achieve.<\/p>\n

She would have only a few days to prepare for diplomatic tests \u2014 major regional summits and talks with Trump in between. She has to reassure that there will be stable ties with China and South Korea, which are concerned about her revisionist views on wartime history and past visits to the Yasukuni Shrine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The shrine honors Japan\u2019s 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals. Victims of Japanese aggression, especially China and the Koreas, see visits to the shrine as a lack of remorse about Japan\u2019s wartime past.<\/p>\n

Takaichi supports a stronger military, currently undergoing a five-year buildup<\/a> with the annual defense budget being doubled to 2% of gross domestic product by 2027. Trump is expected to demand that Japan increase its military spending to NATO targets of 5% of GDP, and purchase more U.S. weapons. <\/p>\n

Takaichi has to follow up on Japan\u2019s pledge of $550 billion to Trump\u2019s administration as part of a U.S. tariff deal.<\/p>\n

Her policies focus on short-term measures such as rising prices, salary increase and subsidies, as well as restrictions against a growing foreign population amid a rise of xenophobia<\/a>. Takaichi hasn\u2019t shown a vision for Japan to address bigger issues like demographic challenges<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Takaichi\u2019s dilemma<\/p>\n

Takaichi\u2019s mission is to regain conservative votes by pushing the party further to the right.<\/p>\n

The LDP\u2019s new coalition with the right-wing JIP may fit Takaichi\u2019s views, but experts say that she would have to avoid pushing them and prioritize stability.<\/p>\n

She needs to balance relations between China and the United States under Trump, while at home she also needs balance to gain support from the opposition camp to achieve anything.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe needs to be realistic,\u201d says Sato, the commentator.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Takaichi sent a religious ornament instead of going to the Yasukuni Shrine, apparently to avoid a diplomatic dispute with Beijing and Seoul.<\/p>\n

To consolidate opposition cooperation and lift her coalition closer to a majority, she has reached out to smaller opposition groups, including the far-right Sanseito.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no room for Takaichi to show her true colors. All she can do is cooperate per policy,\u201d said Masato Kamikubo, a Ritsumeikan University political science professor. \u201cIt\u2019s a pathetic situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

A kingmaker\u2019s influence<\/p>\n

Takaichi\u2019s election as LDP leader as she seeks the premiership is about power politics by the 85-year-old conservative former Prime Minister Taro Aso, the party\u2019s most powerful kingmaker.<\/p>\n

In her first move as LDP president, Takaichi appointed Aso as the party\u2019s vice president and gave more top jobs to his allies and others who supported her, including Abe allies linked to the funds scandal. Takaichi is expected to appoint them to her Cabinet.<\/p>\n

Political instability<\/p>\n

Political observers expect that a Takaichi government wouldn\u2019t last long. An early election may have to be called later this year, in hopes of regaining a majority in the lower house, though that would be tough.<\/p>\n

Experts also raise concerns about how Takaichi, a fiscal expansionist, can coordinate economic policies with Ishin\u2019s fiscal conservative views. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe era of LDP domination is over and we are entering the era of multiparty politics. The question is how to form a coalition,\u201d Sato said, noting a similar trend in Europe. \u201cWe need to find a Japanese way of forming a coalition and a stable government.\u201d<\/p>\n

About a dozen opposition parties span the spectrum from the Japanese Communist Party on the left to Sanseito and several others on the extreme right.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s going on here right now is what\u2019s going on in all our democracies for a lot of complicated reasons,\u201d said Gerald Curtis, a Columbia University professor and expert on Japanese politics, citing the mainstream political parties losing popularity, and voters acting on the basis of anger and resentment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TOKYO (AP) \u2014 Japan\u2019s governing party leader, Sanae Takaichi, is on track to become the country\u2019s first female…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":318356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13214,9710,64,74,1226,69,90,57,86,51,3464,6604,170,17787,62733,50,80,26057,3645,145195,159819,52,376,107],"class_list":{"0":"post-318355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-asia-pacific","9":"tag-beijing","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-china","12":"tag-conservatism","13":"tag-donald-trump","14":"tag-elections","15":"tag-general-news","16":"tag-government-policy","17":"tag-headlines","18":"tag-international-agreements","19":"tag-international-news","20":"tag-japan","21":"tag-japan-government","22":"tag-margaret-thatcher","23":"tag-news","24":"tag-politics","25":"tag-seoul","26":"tag-shigeru-ishiba","27":"tag-shinzo-abe","28":"tag-taro-aso","29":"tag-top-stories","30":"tag-united-kingdom","31":"tag-world-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115406108407928183","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/318356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}