Sanae Takaichi, 64, is set to become Japan's new minister as she was just elected as the leader of the long-governing conservative Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday. She would be the first woman to lead the country.
She won against four other candidates for the LDP presidency. The vote on Saturday only involved 295 LDP parlimentarians and 1 million dues-paying members.
Here are 5 things to know about Sanae Takaichi:
- Taikaichi is the first female leader of the male-dominated Conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has been governing the country nonstop since 1955. She is not necessarily a feminist and is known for being one of the more conservative members in the party. She has previously fought against married couples having different last names and was against allowing members of the imperial family’s maternal line to ascend the throne.
- She is a native of Nara in Western Japan and used to play drums in a heavy metal band during college. She also likes riding motorcycles and scuba diving. She was first elected to the parliament in 1993 and has held various senior government roles, including economic security minister from 2022 to 2024.
- Taichi beat the Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in an intraparty vote on Saturday. This is her third run for party leadership, and she won against four other men. She might soon replace Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who stepped down after the LDP lost its majority in both legislative chambers.
- Voters have been increasingly leaving the LDP due to inflation and a recent fund-slash scandal. In order to restore their voter base, Taikaichi has taken a tougher stance on immigration and foreign tourists, national security and defense.
- She has a nationalist stance and is a critic of China. She also believes in building a strong alliance in the United States, the Washington Post reported. She previously criticised Tokyo’s tariff negotiations with the US due to the unequal aspects of the deal.
