Name: Japan Makes History: Sanae Takaichi To Become First Female Prime Minister
Uploaded: 2025-10-08T02:57:47.000Z
Duration: 3 min 19 s
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Japan is on the brink of making history as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party elects Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, positioning her to become the country's first female prime minister.

The 64 year old right winger has pledged to build a strong and prosperous Japan on the international stage, promising to restore faith in her party and rekindle national confidence.

The LDP election took place at the party headquarters in Tokyo on Saturday after former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigned following just a year in office.

Ishiba's leadership had angered the right wing of the party and left it reeling from back to back election losses amid a funding scandal and a cost of living crisis.

In a tense runoff vote, Takaichi defeated her moderate rival Shinjiro Koizumi.

According to Kyoto times, she secured 183of589 votes in the first round, with Koizumi following at 164.

Three other candidates were eliminated early.

Though the runoff was expected to favor Koizumi, whose popularity among lawmakers was stronger.

It was Tokaichi who prevailed in the decisive second round.

Moments before the final vote, Takaichi told party members recently, I have heard harsh voices from across the country saying we don't know what the LDP stands for anymore.

I wanted to turn people's anxieties about their daily lives and the future into hope.

While the LDP led coalition no longer commands a majority in Parliament, analysts say Takaichi is almost certain to win the upcoming parliamentary vote for prime minister later this month.

Takaichi's immediate task will be to reunite her fractured party and regain public trust after months of turmoil.

She inherits an LDP that has been bruised by scandal and battered at the polls.

A staunch conservative, Takaichi has long been known for her uncompromising views.

A protege of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, she supports his free and open Indo Pacific strategy and advocates stronger defense capabilities to counter China and North Korea.

She has also backed Abe's Abenomics policies for aggressive economic stimulus.

Takechi has often drawn comparisons to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom she has described as her role model.

A former heavy metal drummer and motorcycle enthusiast, she entered politics in 1993 and has held several key cabinet roles, including Minister for economic security from 2022 to 2024.

Her conservative leanings have also made her a controversial figure.

She opposes allowing married couples to have separate surnames and resists any reform enabling female succession to Japan's imperial throne.

Despite her ascent as Japan's first female leader, she is not known for championing gender equality.

On foreign policy, she has advocated closer security cooperation with Taiwan, reconsideration of investment deals with the US and what she calls a Japan first approach.

During a campaign debate, she criticized Japan's tariff deal with the US Calling parts of it unequal.

As Takaichi steps into leadership, she faces enormous challenges, from repairing Japan's global alliances to reviving its economy and uniting a divided nation.

Yet for many, her victory represents not just a political milestone but a symbolic breaking of what she once called Japan's highest glass ceiling.