Japan’s New Prime Minister: Who Is Sanae Takaichi?
On October 21, 2025, Japan elected Sanae Takaichi as prime minister. She heralds a milestone achievement as Japan’s first female prime minister, especially given the severe underrepresentation of women in Japanese politics, with the country ranking 118 out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Gender Gap Index. However, she also signals the rise of far-right nationalism globally, and her election could send shockwaves throughout East Asia.
Prime Minister Takaichi spent her early years in a small town in Nara Prefecture, Kashihara City, before attending the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management and securing an internship with former U.S. Representative of Colorado Patricia Schroeder, a Democrat and a feminist. She then returned to Japan as an author and TV personality before embarking on her political career in 1993, winning her election to Parliament as an independent from Nara. Over the course of her political career, she has served under former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and is a current member of the Liberal Democratic Party. Takaichi has cited Margaret Thatcher as one of her greatest influences, not only as a rare female leader in a male-dominated party, but also as a staunch conservative.
Despite Takaichi’s achievement as Japan’s first female prime minister, her views on women’s rights in Japanese society remain staunchly traditional. She believes women should be ineligible for imperial succession, speaks against women’s ability to keep their maiden names after marriage, and opposes same-sex marriage. While her election is inherently a female achievement, many of her critics have called her “an old man with a woman’s face,” believing her reign may lead to the regression of women’s rights in the region. These fears have already been seemingly confirmed through her current cabinet, which only consists of 2 women out of 19, despite her earlier campaign promises, as well as her alignment with the far-right Japan Innovation Party to ensure her premiership.
Other policies that she supports include a return to Abenomics, an economic policy first implemented under former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The policy includes flooding the market with yen to stimulate the economy and keep borrowing costs low, but also resulted in Japan accruing the largest public debt in the developed world in comparison to its economic output. Additionally, Takaichi promised to increase military spending, citing “security concerns” with China, whilst reflecting similar rhetoric from U.S. President Donald Trump. Like Trump, Takaichi has pledged to take a harder stance against foreigners and immigrants within the nation by limiting the number of foreigners allowed entry and denying visas to those who fail to pay for public health insurance. While a crackdown on foreign misbehavior lacks the extremity of mass deportations, the crime rate for foreigners has been trending downwards, calling into question the necessity of placing such policies at the forefront of her political promises.
Takaichi’s election reflects a rising trend of conservatism throughout global politics. In Italy, Giorgia Meloni became the nation’s first female prime minister in October 2022 and founded a new far-right government. Meloni’s election revealed the popularity of conservative values, particularly amongst Italian youth, and conservative popularity has only skyrocketed in the nation following the recent assassination of American political conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Similarly, in May 2024, Gordana Siljanovska‑Davkova’s election as president of North Macedonia, backed by the nation’s right-wing nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party, led them to overtake the Social Democrats for the first time in seven years. While these achievements are remarkable for female leadership on the international stage, they also reflect an increase in nationalist and anti-immigrant sentiments throughout the world, shaping the current tone of international politics.
With the recency of Takaichi’s election, it is unclear how her ascent to power will shape Japan’s immediate future. She has seemingly aligned with the U.S. and President Trump through interactions on X, formerly Twitter. She has also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, where she agreed to pursue stable ties with the nation, despite her previously expressing anti-Chinese sentiments, such as aligning with Taiwan, which threatens China’s One China Policy. However, her first course of action is to combat Japan’s rising food prices, stagnant wages, and aging population. Once these domestic policies are secured, her stance on China and the U.S. could prove instrumental in sculpting the political future of East Asia.