Oct. 4 (UPI) — Sanae Takaichi, a hardline conservative, is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister after being elected by her Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday.
The 64-year-old former economic security minister defeated four other candidates to lead the LDP after two rounds of voting. She has served as party president this year.
If elected by both houses of the parliament later this month, she will replace Shigeru Ishiba, who announced last month he would resign after being in office for less than one year. Ishiba is a member of the LDP.
In the past two elections, the party became the minority among representatives and councillors in parliament, which is known as the Diet.
Takaichi has 32 years of political experience, including serving Nara, which is in Japan’s main island of Honshu, in the lower house. She was the economics minister from 2022 to 2024.
In a runoff, Takaichi defeated Shinjiro Koizumi, the 44-year-old agricultural minister seen as the favorite going into Saturday’s election. She received 149 lawmaker votes and 36 LDP chapter votes, ahead of Koizumi’s 145 votes from lawmakers and 11 from the prefectural chapters.
Other candidates were Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi and former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi .
“I’m feeling how tough it’s going to be from here on, rather than feeling happy,” Takaichi said after her election. “We won’t be able to rebuild the party if I don’t get everyone’s help, from all generations. I will scrap my work-life balance and work and work and work and work and work.”
Takachi wants to broaden her support, saying “everyone, and of all generations” — including election rivals — need to help mend the divided party.
Takachi is a protege of Shinzo Abe, the former prime minister assassinated in 2022.
She is vowing to bring back an economic vision known as Abenomics, which includes high fiscal spending and cheap borrowing. Japan currently has a sluggish economy of high inflation and stagnant wages.
In addition, she has to contend with a tariff deal worked out with U.S. President Donald Trump that includes a 15% duty on its exports in exchange for a commitment of $550 million in the U.S. economy.
She must work out how to spend that money, including investments, loans and loan guarantees.
Takaichi was the only candidate to consider renegotiating the deal, saying “we must speak out firmly.”
Tkaichi, who is more conservative than the other candidates, is a former TV host.
“I think she’s in a good position to regain the right-wing voters, but at the expense of wider popular appeal, if they go into a national election,” Professor Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University in Tokyo, told the BBC.
She is a member of the “hardline” faction of the LDP, whose support has imploded “because it lost touch with its right-wing DNA,” Kingston said.
But he noted Takaichi won’t have much success “healing the internal party rift.”
Takachi is an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, who became Britain’s first female prime minister in 1979.
“She calls herself Japan’s Margaret Thatcher,” Kingstone said. “In terms of fiscal discipline, she’s anything but Thatcher. But like Thatcher she’s not much of a healer. I don’t think she’s done much to empower women.”
Takachi has opposed legislation that allows women to keep their maiden names after marriage. Also, she is opposed to same sex marriage, which is not a national law in Japan.
