November 3, 2025
TOKYO – On Oct. 21, Liberal Democratic Party President Sanae Takaichi was elected prime minister, becoming the first woman to assume the post in the history of Japan. Her victory was a breakthrough.
A year ago, then Vice President Kamala Harris ran as the Democratic candidate in the U.S presidential election, but she was defeated. The United States has yet to have a female president. With Takaichi now premier, the United States is one of only two Group of Seven countries that has never been led by a woman. France, too, has yet to have a female president, but it has had two female prime ministers to date.
The first female leader in the G7 was Margaret Thatcher, who became prime minister of the United Kingdom in 1979. The film “The Iron Lady,” which featured a brilliant performance by Meryl Streep, shows how difficult it was for women to climb the ladder of power in the male-dominated realm of the Conservative Party.
The “iron lady” nickname was first used in 1976 by a Soviet Defense Ministry newspaper in its criticism of anti-communist rhetoric by Thatcher, language she used as leader of the opposition. The phrase spread throughout the world as she turned the criticism to her advantage by acknowledging herself as “a Cold War warrior,” adding “I am an iron lady.”
In its reports, the BBC has referred to Takaichi as “Japan’s iron lady” while quoting her as saying during her LDP presidential campaign, “My goal is to become the iron lady.” On her website, Takaichi describes her desire to emulate Margaret Thatcher, a desire borne out of how impressed she was by the British leader when she met her in her youth. But is Takaichi really capable of becoming “Japan’s Thatcher”?
Thatcher has often been called Britain’s greatest peacetime prime minister. When she passed away in 2013, then Prime Minister David Cameron said she “succeeded against all the odds, and … she didn’t just lead our country, she saved our country. I believe she’ll go down as the greatest British peacetime prime minister.”
William Hague, who was foreign secretary under Cameron and earlier served as leader of the Conservative Party, said Thatcher “changed our country forever and all of us owe so much to her. A legacy few will ever equal.”
Thatcher faced fierce criticism for dividing the United Kingdom with her hardline conservative ideology, and she even narrowly escaped an attempted assassination by bombing. Nevertheless, she was praised by Cameron and Hague because she brought about an enormous transformation known as the “Thatcher revolution,” both in the United Kingdom and abroad.
No to ‘consensus politics’
Before Thatcher, the United Kingdom was Keynesian in its fiscal policies, so much so that it was regarded as a representative welfare state providing generous social security to its population. When it came to welfare, the country pursued “consensus politics,” transcending the ideological divide between the left and the right.
However, once economic growth began slowing, labor unions gained excessive influence, making it difficult for healthy competition to thrive in the British economy. Upon becoming prime minister, Thatcher smashed consensus politics and birthed a new ideology known as neoliberalism.
She even sparked controversy by going so far as to say that “there is no such thing as society.” For Thatcher, what existed were “individuals” and “families.” In keeping with classical liberalism from the Victorian era in the 19th century, she argued that the “individual” should exist independently and that one should not be overly dependent on the state and society. In other words, she sought to revive the spirit of the British Empire at its zenith, when it was called “the empire on which the sun never sets.”
Ironically, it was the Conservative Party’s Theresa May, chosen as the country’s second female prime minister in 2016, who tried to close the chapter on neoliberalism, also known as Thatcherism. In 2017, she had her chief of staff, Nick Timothy, work out a campaign strategy for that year’s snap general election. At the core of her election manifesto was neither the Thatcherism advocated by the Conservative Party’s right wing, nor, of course, a Corbynism centered on poverty reduction measures, as proposed by Jeremy Corbyn, the leftist leader of the Labour Party. May’s policy was aimed at the middle class, the majority of the country.
Unlike her predecessor, Cameron, and her successor, Boris Johnson, who both attended elite, tuition-charging “public schools,” May was educated at a tuition-free state school. Because she grew up in a middle-class family, she thought that the Conservative Party would not be able to broaden its support base unless it advanced policies beneficial to ordinary workers. Thatcherism, which came into fashion under the U.K.’s first female prime minister, was amended by the country’s second female prime minister.
Triumphs and tribulations
However, the Conservative Party lost its majority in the 2017 general election as May’s election strategy proved unsuccessful and the chaos stemming from Brexit sparked a public backlash and distrust. Unlike Thatcher, May failed to garner widespread support from the public.
An even harsher fate awaited Liz Truss, who in 2022 became the third woman to be prime minister. She was in office for only 49 days, granting her the unfortunate title of the shortest-serving prime minister in the country’s history.
When her government announced a significant tax cut that would increase borrowing without specifying how to pay it back, U.K. government bonds faced a sell-off. This triggered a major economic disruption, which became known as the “Truss shock.” British interest rates soared and the pound and British stocks fell. Her erratic economic policies made members of the Conservative Party lose confidence in her management, forcing her to resign.
The U.K.’s three female prime ministers experienced different fates — Thatcher became “the greatest peacetime prime minister,” May was overwhelmed by the turbulent waves of Brexit and Truss left the office faster than anyone before her. The history of these three politicians clearly illustrates the triumphs and tribulations of female prime ministers in Britain.
Thatcher’s success shows that one can leave a significant mark in politics regardless of gender. On the other hand, Truss shows that victory in a party leadership election does not necessarily guarantee continued support within the Conservative Party.
Takaichi has managed to become prime minister, but it is clear from British history that this alone does not guarantee a stable government or continued support from within the LDP.
For her part, Thatcher appropriately responded to the Falklands War in 1982 and secured U.S. support, leading to a general election triumph and the stabilization of her government.
But today, Japanese politics are in disorder. Hopefully, Takaichi will make the right decisions and overcome whatever crises arise, as she navigates an unstable international environment and difficult relations with the United States.
Yuichi Hosoya is a professor of international politics at Keio University and the author of numerous books on British, European and Japanese politics and foreign affairs, including “Security Politics in Japan: Legislation for a New Security Environment.”
AloJapan.com