Who Is Sanae Takaichi? Japan To Get First Female PM, Critics Question Commitment To Women’s Rights

Last Updated:October 04, 2025, 16:59 IST

Sanae Takaichi, a 64-year-old ultra-conservative, is set to become Japan’s first female PM, leading the LDP amid concerns over her traditionalist stance on women’s rights.

Newly-elected leader of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Sanae Takaichi celebrates after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (AP)

Sanae Takaichi is poised to become Japan’s first female prime minister, with the 64-year-old set to take the helm of the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

In a nation with a low ranking on global gender equality, a woman rising to one of the top leadership positions may appear promising, yet many observers remain apprehensive.

According to local media reports, Takaichi has vowed to enhance female participation in the Tokyo cabinet. The 64-year-old is ultra-conservative, with her views and positions chiming more with men than women.

As per an Associated Press report, female lawmakers in the LDP, often assigned minor ministerial positions, are frequently marginalised when pushing for diversity and gender equality.

Women make up only about 15% of the lower house, the more powerful of Japan’s two parliamentary chambers, and just two of Japan’s 47 prefectural governors are women.

A major concern is Takaichi’s allegiance to the party’s male power brokers, which could further constrain her efforts to promote women’s rights.

Traditionalist On Women

Takaichi has opposed all such reforms that advocate for better representation and position for women in society in the past.

She has supported the LDP’s view that women should serve as good mothers and wives. She opposes same-sex marriage, male-only imperial succession reforms, and legal changes allowing married couples to keep separate surnames.

She has also shared her experiences with menopausal symptoms, calling for greater male awareness of women’s health to better support them in schools and workplaces.

Who Is Takaichi?

First elected to parliament from her hometown of Nara in 1993, Takaichi has served in prominent roles, including minister of economic security, internal affairs, and gender equality.

Takaichi admires former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and is a proponent of Shinzo Abe’s conservative vision for Japan.

She becomes the first female leader of the largely male-dominated LDP, a party that has held sway over Japanese politics for nearly the entire postwar period.

Takaichi, known for her unconventional past as a heavy-metal drummer and motorbike enthusiast, has advocated for a stronger military, higher fiscal spending to boost growth, the advancement of nuclear fusion, enhanced cybersecurity, and tougher immigration policies.

A wartime history revisionist and China hawk, Takaichi regularly visits the Yasukuni Shrine, a site controversial in Japan’s neighbouring countries.

She has not specified her plans as prime minister but is seen as hawkish toward China and cautious in dealings with South Korea, the Associated Press reported.

Her position could test the LDP’s coalition with the moderate Komeito party, although she has indicated a willingness to collaborate with far-right factions.

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