Japan has followed greater than a 3rd of the world’s countries in gaining its first female leader, after members of the Food regimen voted Sanae Takaichi to take over as Prime Minister.
Takaichi counts amongst her political idols one other woman who took on the mantle of first female head of presidency for her country: Margaret Thatcher.
During her recent campaign to grow to be leader of the ruling party – her third try and win the role – she told a bunch of schoolchildren: ‘My goal is to grow to be the Iron Lady.’
But despite very openly taking inspiration from the previous British PM, Takaichi’s background isn’t exactly harking back to Thatcher, and several other of her policies have attracted controversy.
Here’s all it’s essential know concerning the hardline conservative now leading one in every of the world’s most populous countries.
Who’s Japan’s recent Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi?
Takaichi is a keen drummer with a passion for heavy metal and fast cars, and before going into politics she briefly worked as a TV presenter.
The 64-year-old’s interest in politics, nevertheless, goes back a long time – in 1987, she spent a 12 months working for Democrat congresswoman Pat Schroeder within the US.
She began her parliamentary profession in 1993 after being elected as an independent, then joined the Liberal Democratic Party – which bears little or no political resemblance to the UK party with an identical name – in 1996.
Over the next years, she worked closely with Shinzo Abe, who ended up becoming the longest-serving Prime Minister in Japanese history. He was assassinated in 2022.
Takaichi previously tried to grow to be leader of the LDP in 2021 and 2024 but lost out each times.
But her eventual victory earlier this month set her as much as take over power following confirmation by parliament.
What are her policies?
Over her 32 years as a member of Japan’s Food regimen – the name of the national parliament – Takaichi has gained a fame as a firm conservative.
Like ex-PM Abe, she takes a traditionalist approach to matters like family and culture.
She is against same-sex marriage and allowing each members of a married couple to maintain their very own surname – despite retaining her maiden name after her two marriages to the identical man.
Takaichi is more right-wing on most issues than her predecessors as LDP leader, which could be an effort to appeal to a drift to the suitable among the many Japanese public.
Her repeated visits to the Yasakuni Shrine have garnered controversy – it honours Japan’s war dead, including numerous convicted war criminals, and no PM has visited it since 2013.
Did she really was once a drummer?
Yes – as mentioned above, Takaichi could be very keen on heavy metal music and that extends to playing the drums.
Based on BBC News, she is understood for carrying a lot of sticks because she hits the drums so furiously they often break.
Her favourite bands include London’s very own Deep Purple and Iron Maiden.
What does this mean for Japan’s politics?
The country could be hoping for a little bit of stability – Takaichi is the fourth Japanese PM since Abe stepped down in September 2020.
Her government is prone to push hard on Abe’s signature approach to the economy, dubbed Abenomics, which incorporates higher spending and tax cuts.
She may attempt to bring Japan closer politically to the US, which must be helped by a visit from Donald Trump scheduled for next week.
Time will tell if her elevation to PM can have an impact on female political representation in Japan – where women make up just 15% of the Food regimen – though she has pledged to extend the number of ladies within the Cabinet.
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