Name: Sanae Takaichi Set To Make History By Becoming Japan’s First Female Prime Minister
Uploaded: 2025-10-07T08:05:14.000Z
Duration: 3 min 28 s
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Foreign the land of the rising sun is about to witness a new dawn.

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Japan, a nation long led by men, now stands on the edge of history because for the first time ever, a woman is poised to lead the nation.

Over the weekend, Takaichi was elected the new leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, defeating Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, who is the son of former Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi, in a razor thin runoff.

Her win means that once Parliament convenes, the 64 year old Conservative will almost certainly be confirmed as Japan's next Prime minister, the country's fifth in just five years.

Her journey has been anything but ordinary.

As a student, she played drums in a heavy metal band and rode motorcycles through the streets of nara.

Then in 1993, she won her first seat in Parliament.

From Minister for Economic Security to Internal affairs to gender equality, Takaichi has steadily climbed Japan's political ladder, becoming one of the most powerful women in Asia.

But her rise comes at a moment of deep turbulence for Japan's ruling party.

The ldp, battered by a slush fund scandal, soaring inflation and the rise of far right challengers has lost ground with younger voters.

Outgoing PM Shigeru Ishiba resigned after losing control of both houses.

Now Takaichi inherits a party and a country searching for direction, while her election marks a milestone.

But her politics tell a more complicated story.

Takaichi has opposed allowing couples to have different surnames.

She rejects same sex marriage and supports keeping the imperial throne male.

Only Takaichi, however, has played by the party's rules, aligning herself with powerful conservative men, including the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose policies she continues to champion.

She is a staunch defender of Abenomics, Abe's signature mix of government spending and loose monetary policy.

And while she promises to bring more women into her cabinet and even speaks of matching Nordic standards, critics warn her loyalty to the LDP's male hierarchy may limit how much she can truly change.

Currently, women hold just 15% of seats in Japan's powerful lower house, and

only two of the country's 47 governors are female.

If confirmed, she plans to step onto the world stage, promising to travel more, rebuild Japan's image abroad and in her own words, to declare to the world Japan is back.

For Japan, this is both a first and a test.

Can a woman break the highest ceiling in one of the world's most traditional democracies and still hold the trust of a deeply conservative base.

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Sanae Takaichi Set To Make History By Becoming Japan’s First Female Prime Minister

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