Japan made history on Tuesday by appointing Sanae Takaichi as its first female prime minister. A China hawk and social conservative, Takaichi secured the position after striking an 11th-hour coalition deal. She becomes Japan\u2019s fifth premier in as many years and will lead a minority government with a packed agenda, including a scheduled visit by US President Donald Trump next week. Parliament voted Takaichi into office after she unexpectedly won a majority in the first round. She is set to formally take office following a meeting with the emperor. Takaichi, a former heavy metal drummer, became head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on October 4. The LDP, which has governed almost continuously for decades, has been losing support, and six days later, the Komeito party left the coalition due to Takaichi\u2019s conservative views and an LDP slush fund scandal. This prompted Takaichi to form a last-minute alliance with the right-leaning Japan Innovation Party (JIP), which supports lowering the consumption tax on food to zero, abolishing corporate and organizational donations, and reducing the number of MPs. Takaichi pledged to \u201cmake Japan\u2019s economy stronger and reshape the country for future generations.\u201d \u201cShe\u2019s a strong-minded person, regardless of being a woman,\u201d said 76-year-old pensioner Toru Takahashi in Takaichi\u2019s hometown of Nara. \u201cShe\u2019s not like Trump, but she\u2019s clear about what\u2019s right and wrong.\u201d Nordic Takaichi has promised a cabinet with \u201cNordic\u201d levels of women, up from two under outgoing premier Shigeru Ishiba. These could include the right-wing Satsuki Katayama in charge of finances and the half-American Kimi Onoda as economic security minister, local media said. Japan ranked 118 out of 148 in the World Economic Forum\u2019s 2025 Global Gender Gap Report. Around 15 percent of lower house MPs are women and corporate boardrooms are overwhelmingly male. Takaichi, 64, has said she hopes to raise awareness about women\u2019s health struggles and has spoken candidly about her own experience with menopause. But she opposes revising a 19th-century law requiring married couples to share the same surname, and wants the imperial family to stick to male-only succession. In Nara, company worker Keiko Yoshida, 39, told AFP she hopes Takaichi will \u201cmake Japan a more liveable place for women\u201d. \u201cI\u2019d be happy if we saw more policies from a woman\u2019s perspective: support for childcare, and help for women returning to work after having children,\u201d agreed student Nina Terao, 18. Abenomics Details of a trade deal between Washington and Tokyo remain unresolved, and Trump also wants Japan to stop Russian energy imports and boost defence spending. \u201cI\u2019d like her to be a Prime Minister who can clearly say \u2018No\u2019 when needed,\u201d Satoshi Sakamoto, 73, another Nara pensioner, told AFP. Beyond Trump, Takaichi\u2019s many challenges include reversing the decline of Japan\u2019s population and injecting some vim in the flatlining economy. Being in a minority in both houses of parliament, the new coalition will need support from other parties to push through legislation. Takaichi has in the past backed aggressive monetary easing and expanded government spending, echoing her mentor, former premier Shinzo Abe. Despite walking back on these \u201cAbenomics\u201d calls in the LDP leadership contest, her victory has boosted Japanese stocks to record highs. She previously said that \u201cJapan is completely looked down on by China\u201d, and that Tokyo must \u201caddress the security threat\u201d posed by Beijing. But she has since toned down her rhetoric on China, and stayed away last week from a festival at the Yasukuni shrine \u2014 she has been a regular visitor before \u2014 honouring Japan\u2019s war dead. Takaichi will also be under pressure to restore the fortunes of the LDP after a string of poor election results that cost Ishiba his job. Smaller parties gaining support include the populist Sanseito, which calls immigration a \u201csilent invasion\u201d. \u201cPrices have gone up, and it\u2019s tough,\u201d Nara pensioner Satoe Tominaga, 77, told AFP, saying she was \u201c50-50\u201d about Takaichi. \u201cHonestly, I mostly shop at 100-yen ($0.66) stores now.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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