THE WASHINGTON POST
October 4, 2025
Sanae Takaichi is set to become Japan’s first female prime minister
The new leader will take the helm of the world’s fourth-largest economy at a time of unusual political instability, rising prices and increasing regional tensions.
She is poised to become prime minister later this month, succeeding Shigeru Ishiba, who last month announced he would step down after less than a year in the role, following two crushing parliamentary defeats that cost the long-governing ruling LDP its coalition majority in both legislative chambers. She would be the fourth prime minister in five years.
Takaichi, a nationalist, would pull Japan’s politics sharply to the right. Although she believes in a strong security alliance with the United States, she emphasizes a “Japan First” foreign policy where Tokyo acts foremost in its national interest. She has been critical of Tokyo’s tariff negotiations with the U.S., saying there were unequal aspects to the deal.
She will become prime minister at a time of pronounced geopolitical volatility for Japan. The Asia-Pacific region is being reshaped by the rise of China. President Donald Trump’s transactional approach to tariff negotiations with Japan, a major security ally, has stunned many officials in Tokyo. The Russian war against Ukraine has unnerved Japanese leaders who worry it could embolden China to attack Taiwan, and pull Japan into the conflict.
Her diplomatic skills may be immediately put to the test: Trump may visit Japan later this month when he attends the APEC forum in South Korea.
The election consisted of two rounds. The first round was made up of 294 votes from the party’s members in parliament and 295 votes representing rank-and-file members. Then, in the second run-off round between the top two candidates, 341 votes were cast — 294 from the LDP members in parliament and one vote from the local LDP chapter in each of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
In a speech following the vote, Takaichi vowed to “work, work and work” to reenergize and rebuild the party.
“Rather than feeling happy, I truly feel that the real work begins now," Takaichi said. “We will make the Liberal Democratic Party a more energetic and bright party, a party that can turn people’s anxieties into hope.”
Takaichi’s election ends Ishiba’s term as president of the LDP, but he will remain prime minister until his successor is formally selected at a parliamentary session, probably on Oct. 14.
Previous leaders of the LDP, which has been in power almost uninterrupted since its founding in 1955, automatically became prime minister after previous elections. But now that the LDP is in the minority in parliament, opposition parties have a chance to unify behind their preferred candidate. So far, no such candidate has emerged, leaving Takaichi as the most likely party leader to become the head of state.
Here’s what to know about the woman set to become Japan’s next leader.
Who is Sanae Takaichi?
Takaichi is an anomaly in Japanese politics, which has been dominated by generations of male politicians following their fathers and grandfathers. The native of Nara in western Japan is the first elected official in her family, played drums in a heavy-metal band during college, and likes riding motorcycles and scuba diving.
She was elected to parliament in 1993 and has served in various senior government roles, including economic security minister from 2022 to 2024.
Takaichi, who has invoked former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as her role model, has shattered the highest glass ceiling of public office in Japan by becoming the first female leader of the male-dominated and patriarchal Asian nation. But she is not known to be an advocate of gender equality.
She has fought against allowing married couples to have different last names and against allowing members of the imperial family’s maternal line to ascend the throne — two key litmus tests for where politicians stand on gender issues.
Gender equality advocates have been critical of Takaichi’s stance on women’s rights and say her victory does not necessarily carry significance for the future political and professional advancement of Japanese women.
“Takaichi has made no reference at all to the hardships women face or to gender disparities during the leadership contest," said Yayo Okano, a professor at Doshisha University in Kyoto who specializes in feminism and political theory. “In that sense, I fear this signals a very harsh situation for women, because it effectively rules out any prospect of real improvement in Japan’s gender inequality going forward.”
Still, Takaichi pledged to create a cabinet and party leadership with a higher proportion of women than in previous administrations.
What are her major policy platforms?
Takaichi is known for her hard-line stances on national security, defense and immigration.
She is a protégé of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister and the architect of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” initiative that promotes Japan as a counter to China’s economic and military rise. After Abe was assassinated in 2022, Takaichi became a rallying figure for the hawkish wing of the party.
Her nationalist stance is likely to complicate relations with China and could undermine the country’s recent efforts to improve ties with South Korea, experts say. Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung have held three meetings in the past three months and agreed to steadily develop stable relations.
Although Takaichi has recently said she wants to strengthen relations with South Korea, Seoul remains wary of a potential Takaichi premiership. At a YouTube debate last month, she said Japanese cabinet ministers should “go confidently without worrying about appearances” to a disputed island between the two nations.
Takaichi believes that Japan does not need to apologize further for its wartime past. She has repeatedly visited the Yasukuni shrine, which is seen by some as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism because it honors convicted World War II war criminals, among others. But during the campaign, she has avoided explicitly saying whether she would visit the shrine, while stressing her continued commitment to honoring the war dead.
She wants to strengthen restrictions on allowing foreigners into Japan. Last month, she raised eyebrows when she claimed, without evidence, that foreigners “kick deer” in her hometown of Nara, which is famous for its wildlife. A Nara official said there were no reports of such violence, according to Japanese media. Although the number of foreigners living in Japan has been growing quickly, they still make up just 3 percent of the population.
Her economic policies include promoting growth by eliminating the provisional gas tax and introducing a system of providing tax credits with cash benefits, which would allow low-income earners to receive cash payments for any unused portion of their income tax deductions. The opposition parties have also advocated for this approach.
What will Takaichi’s election mean for the U.S. alliance?
The biggest point of contention may be over the trade agreement that the Trump and Ishiba administrations reached last month. Takaichi has suggested she may want to reopen talks on the tariff deal, such as the $550 billion Japanese investment commitments to the U.S.
“If, during the course of implementation, elements that harm Japan’s national interest are found, then renegotiation is a possibility,” Takaichi said during a Fuji TV debate last month.
Takaichi is supported by members of her party who want to see Japan less dependent on the U.S. She advocates Japan to have stronger defensive capabilities. She has pushed for a debate over allowing the use of U.S. nuclear weapons in Japan in the case of an emergency.
During a candidate debate last month, Takaichi said Japan should strengthen its alliance with the U.S. and increase cooperation with South Korea and the Philippines. She said she has concerns about China but hopes to be able to continue dialogue with Beijing.
Still, if she veers too far to the right on China or South Korea, it could isolate Japan during a time when the Trump administration’s China strategy appears to be evolving, said Tetsuo Kotani, an expert on U.S.-Japan relations and national security at the Meikai University.
“Japan could end up isolated, relations with South Korea could worsen, and if Japan enters a confrontational stance with China while the U.S. steps back from Asia, that would be extremely challenging,” Kotani said. “Whoever becomes prime minister must consider this carefully.”
Why is there an election now for the leader of the LDP?
Japan has been experiencing an uncharacteristic period of political instability in the past three years because of the public’s economic dissatisfaction and a political scandal involving the LDP in 2023. The weak yen and rising prices — after decades of deflation — have been weighing on Japanese households, yet wage increases have not kept pace.
The public’s trust in the LDP has been plummeting since a political fundraising scandal that roiled the party after Abe’s death in 2022, implicating many in its senior leadership.
The fallout has been damaging to the LDP. Fumio Kishida resigned as prime minister last year after facing historically low approval ratings over the economy and the scandal. Ishiba, who succeeded him, promised to restore the public trust. But shortly after Ishiba was elected, the LDP lost its absolute majority in the more powerful lower house of parliament for the first time in 15 years.
The loss significantly weakened Ishiba’s standing; then came the blow of the July upper house election loss, leaving the party without a coalition majority in either chamber of parliament after governing almost continuously since its founding.
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