A Historic Win in the Middle of Political Chaos: On October 21, 2025, Sanae Takaichi was elected as Japan’s 102nd Prime Minister. This was a historic moment for Japanese politics because it broke the glass ceiling that had kept women from holding the highest office in the country. The 64-year-old ultraconservative lawmaker, who was a student of the late Shinzo Abe, got 237 votes in the lower house of parliament, beating out other candidates in a close runoff. Her rise to power ends a three-month political void caused by the sudden resignation of her predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, whose Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost humiliatingly in two elections in a row. Takaichi’s win, which came about through a last-minute alliance with the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin no Kai), not only brings stability back to the LDP-led government, but it also shows that Japan’s domestic and foreign policies are moving sharply to the right.
Takaichi’s rise to power was anything but easy. The LDP, Japan’s most powerful political party since 1955, had been having a hard time with scandals and losing elections. Ishiba was in charge for only a little over six months, and in July and September 2025, the party lost its majority in both chambers of parliament in snap elections. People were angry about corruption claims, like slush fund schemes involving party factions, which made voters lose faith. Ishiba’s failure to pass important laws about defense spending and economic stimulus sealed his fate even more. Takaichi won a dramatic party leadership race earlier this month. In the last round, he beat former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi with strong support from Abe loyalists.
Her slogan, “Japan First,” struck a chord with a base that was tired of what they saw as a decline in the country, bringing back memories of Abe’s “Abenomics” era.
From small beginnings to a big political force
Sanae Takaichi was born on March 7, 1961, in Nara Prefecture. She grew up in a family that held conservative values. She is the oldest of three daughters and went to Saitama University before starting a career in broadcasting with NHK, the public broadcaster. Her first job gave her a taste of Japan’s changing media scene, but politics was what really got her interested. Takaichi became a member of the Diet in 2005 as a representative for Nara’s third district. She quickly joined Abe’s hawkish faction within the LDP. She worked her way up through the ranks, first as Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, then as Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy, and finally as Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Gender Equality under Abe.
During her time in these positions, Takaichi showed how she could combine pragmatism and ideology. From 2012 to 2016, she was in charge of the LDP’s Policy Research Council. She pushed for changes to Japan’s pacifist constitution that would give the military a bigger role in keeping the region safe. China and South Korea have been angry about her visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, including convicted Class-A war criminals. This shows that she has a revisionist view of World War II history.
But it was her time as Economic Security Minister from 2022 to 2024 under Fumio Kishida that made her a national security hawk, pushing for supply chain resilience during trade tensions between the U.S. and China. Takaichi has often said that Margaret Thatcher, the “Iron Lady” of Britain, is her role model. This is interesting because Takaichi’s election happened to fall on the 100th anniversary of Thatcher’s birth.
Last week, in her first speech as party president, she said, “Like Thatcher, I will not shy away from tough decisions to restore Japan’s confidence and strength.” Takaichi is married to Taku Yamamoto, a former LDP politician who had a stroke earlier this year that made it hard for him to work. She has dealt with personal problems with the same determination that she brings to politics. Her private life, which includes quietly supporting her husband’s recovery, makes her seem more human than the harsh image people often have of her.
Timing and tenacity both played a role in Takaichi’s rise. She tried to lead the LDP twice before, in 2021 and 2024, but both times she lost, the second time by a very small margin to Ishiba. But the 2025 race, which was caused by Ishiba’s fall, was good for her. She got support from rural areas that were hit hard by inflation and population decline by promising targeted subsidies for agriculture and childcare. Her coalition agreement with Hirofumi Yoshimura, the head of Ishin no Kai, was signed just hours before the vote and gave her the votes she needed in a divided Diet.
Policy Goals: Rebirth and Determination
Takaichi quickly laid out her plans. She promised to “build a strong Japan” through aggressive economic stimulus in her first speech as prime minister from her office in Tokyo. This was similar to what Abe had done.
Takaichi said she would put together a ¥30 trillion ($200 billion) package focused on infrastructure, digital transformation, and green energy. This is because the economy is struggling with slow growth—only 0.8% is expected for 2025—and inflation is at 2.5%. Analysts have called this the “Takaichi trade,” saying that her speeches helped the Nikkei 225 reach record highs above 42,000 on election day. But skeptics say that the country’s finances are already stretched too thin; Japan’s public debt is already more than 250% of GDP, which makes it hard to find money without raising taxes.
It’s clear that Takaichi is very tough on security. She has called the axis of China, Russia, and North Korea the “gravest threat” to world order since World War II. She has promised to give Japan’s Self-Defense Forces hypersonic missile capabilities and raise defense spending to 2% of GDP.
Her hawkish views on China, such as supporting Taiwan’s de facto independence, could make relations between Tokyo and Beijing worse while making ties between Tokyo and Washington stronger. Donald Trump’s trip to Asia next week is a big deal. Takaichi is expected to reaffirm the U.S.-Japan alliance and maybe even work out better trade terms while Trump threatens to raise tariffs.
In Japan, Takaichi’s conservatism also applies to social issues. Even though she has played an important role in history, she has been against important gender equality measures like changes to the law on the gender pay gap and longer paternity leave. In 2014, she was the Minister for Gender Equality and said that “merit should prevail over mandates,” downplaying the need for quotas on corporate boards. Her cabinet shows how she feels: only two of the 20 ministers are women, which is only 10% of the total. This is much lower than the 61% of women in Finland’s government.
Critics, like gender studies professor Yoko Otsuka, say that Takaichi’s win “barely moves the needle” on Japan’s terrible 125th place in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index.
Global Echoes and Divisions at Home
Takaichi’s election has effects that go beyond Japan’s islands. In Asia, it strengthens the anti-China bulwark with the U.S., Australia, and India in the Quad framework. European leaders, who just honored Thatcher’s legacy, see similarities in Takaichi’s market-oriented reforms. But people in Tokyo’s streets have very different reactions. Many middle-aged men from the LDP heartlands support her and call her a “Thatcher for the East,” saying she has brought back national pride. Women’s rights groups, on the other hand, are against her “Japan First” philosophy because they think it will set back reproductive rights and equality in the workplace.
There are a lot of problems. Takaichi has to deal with opposition from the Constitutional Democratic Party, which controls important committees, while Ishin’s support is unstable and the government is a minority. Her coalition will be put to the test by upcoming budget fights and a possible constitutional referendum on military expansion. In addition, natural disasters like Japan’s 2025 earthquake season, which has already killed dozens of people, need quick crisis management.
A Trailblazer Who Doesn’t Make Sense
Sanae Takaichi’s time as prime minister is a contradiction: she is a feminist in a patriarchal stronghold and a leader who doesn’t believe in feminism’s core beliefs. The world is watching as she walks into the Kantei residence, her eyes set on bringing back Japan’s postwar miracle. Will she follow in Thatcher’s footsteps and make big changes, or will she break down because of all the things that don’t make sense? For now, Takaichi represents a country that is at a crossroads: strong, open to change, and ready to start over. Her story, which goes from the quiet hills of Nara to the corridors of power in Nagatacho, reminds us that those who are brave enough to take it can write history.