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Sanae Takaichi, a star of ultraconservative Japanese politics and a rare woman to rise in its male-dominated hierarchy, has been elected the country’s first female prime minister.
Takaichi, 64, is also the first woman to lead the Liberal Democratic Party that has dominated Japan’s postwar politics almost without interruption.
She admires former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and is a proponent of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative vision for Japan. A China hawk, she is a regular at Yasukuni Shrine, seen by China, the two Koreas and other Asian victims of Japan’s World War II aggression as a place that glorifies the country’s wartime past.
The leader of a country that ranks poorly internationally for gender equality, Takaichi had rarely mentioned the issue during the campaign. She did remark after winning the presidency of the ruling party: ”Now that the LDP has its first female president, its scenery will change a little.”
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First elected to parliament from her hometown of Nara in 1993, she served in key party and government posts, including minister of economic security, internal affairs and gender equality, though her diplomatic experience is thin.
She has called for a stronger military, more fiscal spending for growth, promotion of nuclear fusion, cybersecurity and tougher policies on immigration.
As a student, Takaichi was a drummer in a heavy-metal band and rode a motorcycle.
She says she’s a workaholic who would rather work at home than go out and socialize. But after two unsuccessful bids to lead the LDP, she says she’s made efforts to build more connections with colleagues.
She asked all party lawmakers to “work like a horse.”
“I will abandon the word ‘work-life balance.’ I will work, work, work and work,” she said in comments that sparked strong, if mixed, online reactions.
