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Hardline nationalist Sanae Takaichi has won the leadership election for Japan’s ruling party, paving the way for the country to get its first female prime minister – and shifting the ideological stance of its government dramatically towards the right.
Ms Takaichi, 64, is set to succeed prime minister Shigeru Ishiba, as their LDP party remains the largest in parliament. But with recent elections seeing the LDP-led coalition losing its majority in both chambers of parliament, she will need support from opposition parties to govern smoothly.
Saturday’s LDP leadership contest was a five-way race but Ms Takaichi, who has repeatedly referred to Margaret Thatcher as a source of inspiration, and the more moderate political scion Shinjiro Koizumi, 44, were always seen as favourites. They emerged as the top two candidates before Ms Takaichi secured victory in a run-off vote on Saturday afternoon.
Ms Takaichi now faces the task of winning back trust from a public angered by rising prices and corruption scandals, and drawn to opposition groups promising big stimulus and clampdowns on foreigners.
Parliament is expected to convene on 15 October to formally elect the next prime minister.
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Former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, 4 October 2025 (AP)
A former economic security and interior minister, Ms Takaichi has repeatedly referred to the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as her inspiration, citing her strong character and convictions coupled with her “womanly warmth”. She said she met the “the Iron Lady” at a symposium shortly before Thatcher’s death in 2013.
A drummer and a fan of heavy metal, Ms Takaichi is no stranger to creating noise herself. She is a regular visitor to the Yasukuni shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead – including some executed war criminals – and is viewed by some Asian neighbours as a symbol of its past militarism.
Ms Takaichi favours revising Japan’s pacifist postwar constitution to recognise the role of its expanding military. She suggested this year that Japan could form a “quasi-security alliance” with Taiwan, the democratically governed island claimed by China that sits close to Japan’s Okinawa island chain.
“Takaichi is a very experienced politician. She has had some experience working in the US as well, [she is] a long-term observer of US-Japan relations, so that’s her strength,” said Yuka Hayashi, vice president of the Asia Group, a Washington-based strategic advisory firm.
“She said that she’s confident that she could build a very strong personal relationship with President Trump. And the reason for that is her policy focuses on what she calls the ‘Japan First’ policy. And that kind of corresponds to President Trump’s America First policy. She sees that sort of common thread there. On the other hand, she’s a hardliner, very conservative when it comes to Japan’s relationship with its Asian neighbours,” said Mr Hayashi.
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Japan’s prime minister contender Shinjiro Koizumi, who is currently agriculture minister, speaks at the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) leadership election on 4 October 2025 (Getty Images)
“She has had a very hawkish stance on World War II legacy issues. She has insisted on visiting the Yasukuni Shrine numerous times, knowing that would inflame Japan’s relationship with its neighbours. So there is some concern that she could fuel tensions with the relationship with South Korea and China.
“This is a very challenging time for the LDP so I think she would probably try to focus on party unity and be very careful about taking excessively conservative hard-line stances in foreign policy.”
Although Ms Takaichi has vowed to appoint more women to cabinet positions – an area in which Japan continues to trail behind its G7 counterparts – surveys suggest her conservative views resonate more strongly with men than with women.
She remains opposed to same-sex marriage and to allowing married couples to use separate surnames – policies that enjoy wide public backing but face fierce resistance within conservative ranks.
However, it is her economic agenda that could send the greatest tremors through Japan’s political and financial establishment.
A protégé of the late Shinzo Abe and a staunch supporter of his “Abenomics” stimulus programme, Ms Takaichi has urged increased public spending and tax cuts to offset the rising cost of living, while criticising the Bank of Japan’s decision to hike interest rates.
Born in Nara, western Japan, to a police officer mother and a father employed in the country’s vital automotive sector, Ms Takaichi has often drawn on her roots to shape her political image.
In a speech last month, she denounced tourists for mistreating the sacred deer that freely wander Nara Park, promising tougher action against unruly foreign visitors – a stance that has struck a chord with some voters amid record numbers of migrants and tourists.
A graduate of Kobe University with a degree in business management, Ms Takaichi later served as a congressional fellow in the US Congress, according to her official website. She entered politics in 1993, winning a seat in the lower house as an independent before joining the Liberal Democratic Party three years later.
AloJapan.com