Sanae Takaichi paves the way for women in politics, however, same-sex marriage and other progressive social issues are far from the top of her list of priorities once she assumes office. 

She helms the country’s traditionalist, male-dominated Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and is a known protégé of Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, who was assassinated in 2022, Shinzo Abe.  

She became a passionate advocate of his policies, such as his economic vision, known as Abenomics, which involves high fiscal spending and low borrowing rates, and his attempts to amend Japan's Constitution to free its military after decades of postwar pacifism. 

Takaichi also promises to strictly regulate immigration and tourism in the country.   

"Foreigners must strictly obey our laws," she says, calling for a "crackdown on illegal immigration" and imposing the same legal requirements on non-Japanese absconders or overstayers. 

In line with this, her approval rating has reached 71%, ranking fifth among approval ratings for Japanese cabinets immediately after their formation, surpassing even the First Abe Shinzo Cabinet, according to the Yomiuri Shimbun’s emergency opinion poll. 

The most popular reason for support was "expectations for policies" (41%), followed by "no better alternative" (20%), "leadership of the prime minister" (15%), "trust in the prime minister" (12%), "strong cabinet lineup" (4%), and "support for a Liberal Democratic Party-led administration" (5%). 

Similar trends were found in a Kyodo News poll that was published on the same day. 

At 64.4%, the approval rating for the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is greater than that of her predecessors, Shigeru Ishiba (50.7%) and Fumio Kishida (55.7%). 

However, Takaichi's divisive selection of Koichi Hagiuda, a powerful LDP politician involved in a well-known slush fund scandal, as the party's new executive acting secretary general, was deemed inappropriate by 70.2% of voters. 

Crimson Rose 

Takaichi grew up far from Tokyo, and in an environment that made it difficult for women to grow out of their stereotypes in the countryside town of Nara prefecture in the late 1970s.

 Nara Prefecture, Kansai region of Honshu, Japan (Image by Kanenori from Pixabay)

A breath of fresh air from politicians with wealthy, elite backgrounds, Takaichi came from a humble background—her mother worked for the police department, and her father worked at a car parts maker. 

Her mother once told her to be a crimson rose to ‘retain feminine grace while possessing the thorns to confront wrongdoing, ’ she recalls in a 2024 biography by Eiji Ohshita.  

Growing up, she was constantly reminded that women are not meant for the same things men get, such as a university education, which her parents denied her despite her winning admission to elite private institutions in Tokyo because she was a girl and they wanted to save up for her younger brother.   

She was sent to Kobe University instead, a state school where she commuted six hours a day by bus and train from her parents’ home in western Japan. 

Her mother initially insisted that she stay at home, preventing her from living in a boarding house prior to marriage, despite her desire to move out, according to the New York Times. 

Iron Lady 

Before being Japan’s premier, Takaichi was a heavy metal drummer and a big fan of Kawasaki motorcycles.  

Japan's First Woman PM Sanae Takaichi Plays Heavy Metal Drums To Relieve Stress (Source: NDTV)

She is known for admiring fellow conservative and nationalist Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1979 to 1990, another first female Prime Minister, and was famously called an "Iron Lady" for her personal and political toughness.  

Now, the same nickname is given to Takaichi.  

Takaichi’s grit was shown during a press appearance on October 4: “Everyone must work. You will work like draft horses. I myself will throw away the phrase ‘work-life-balance’,” she says. 

Japan’s Premier 

“From this moment onward, we will work tirelessly to drive Japan forward,” Takaichi declares. 

Takaichi's victory in the October 4 party leadership vote marked a turn to the right for the historically center-right party, but the resignation of Komeito, the LDP's longtime coalition partner of 26 years, disrupted her takeover of the premiership. 

However, on October 20, Takaichi embraced the libertarian Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), which formally signed a coalition agreement with the LDP, securing all the votes she needed.  

WATCH: Japan Emperor Naruhito approves Sanae Takaichi as Prime Minister on October 21 (Video courtesy: Al Jazeera English)

Stephen Nagy, a visiting fellow at the Japan Institute for International Affairs, says her views focus on reviving the economy, deregulation, addressing inflation and illegal migration, and fostering a strong ethnocultural Japanese state that prioritizes Japanese ethnic and identity over a multicultural identity.   

Meanwhile, critics have voiced concerns over Takaichi’s fiscal policy, which advocates for expansionary stimulus through government spending and monetary measures to revive Japan’s stagnant economy.  

She argues that bold action is needed to break out of Japan's long stagnation. 

"Sanaenomics," her catchphrase, captures this dual goal: structural reform and aggressive macroeconomic policies.