Japan to be governed by a woman for the first time

The Times is hopeful that Takaichi will champion greater equality, even if it’s not for feminist reasons:

“As both a nationalist and a pragmatist, she should nudge Japan towards gender equality. Its birth rate has collapsed: its population shrank by nearly a million last year. One reason is that being a mother is too much like hard work. Japanese women do four times as much housework and caring for children and older people as men. Ms Takaichi, along with many Japanese people, is against increasing immigration to keep the numbers up. If she wants Japan to remain a great power, she must strive to make life better for its women.”