Sanae Takaichi elected LDP chief, set to be Japan’s first woman PM

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Saturday (October 4) elected Sanae Takaichi as its leader, putting her on course to likely become the country’s first female Prime Minister.

An ultra-conservative leader

However, according to media reports, the former Economic Security Minister’s stint in the top post is yet to be confirmed, as unlike her LDP predecessors, the Parliament’s approval for her becoming the Prime Minister will not be automatic, as her party has lost majority in both houses following a series of electoral defeats.

Takaichi, who defeated Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in the runoff to become the leader of the LDP, is likely to be at the helm of a country that ranks poorly internationally for gender equality.

Also Read: Japan's R&I upgrades India's sovereign rating to 'BBB+'

Admirer of Margaret Thatcher

She is an ultra-conservative star of a male-dominated party that critics call an obstacle to women's advancement.

The 64-year-old admirer of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is a proponent of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative vision for Japan.

She is also the first female president of Japan's predominantly male ruling party that has dominated Japan's postwar politics almost without interruption.

Takaichi registered her first victory in Parliamentary politics from her hometown of Nara in 1993 and has served in key party and government posts, including minister of economic security, internal affairs and gender equality.

Also Read: Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba resigns after historic election loss

Toed the line of heavyweight male LDP leaders

She has taken up the reins of a party. Female lawmakers occupying given limited ministerial posts have often been shunned as soon as they spoke up about diversity and gender equality. Takaichi has stuck with old-fashioned views favoured by male party heavyweights.

Women comprise only about 15 per cent of Japan's lower house, the more powerful of the two parliamentary chambers. Only two of Japan's 47 prefectural governors are women.

Takaichi, a drummer in a heavy-metal band and a motorbike rider as a student, has given a call for a stronger military, more fiscal spending for growth, promotion of nuclear fusion, cybersecurity and tougher policies on immigration.

Also Read: PM Modi travels by bullet train with Japanese PM Ishiba from Tokyo to Sendai

Promise to increase female ministers

Despite the male-dominated outlook of the LDP, Takaichi has promised to significantly increase female ministers in her government. However, experts are sceptical about it and argue that she might actually set back women's advancement because, as a leader, she would have to show loyalty to influential male heavyweights. If not, she risks a short-lived leadership.

However, Takaichi has consistently voiced her support for the imperial family's male-only succession, is against same-sex marriage and a revision to the 19th-century civil law that would allow separate surnames for married couples so that women don't get pressured into abandoning theirs.

Also Read: Modi meets 16 Japanese governors, invites them to contribute to India’s growth story

A China hawk

She is a wartime history revisionist and China hawk and regularly visits Yasukuni Shrine, which Japan's neighbours consider a symbol of militarism, though she has declined to say what she would do as prime minister.

Political watchers say her revisionist views of Japan's wartime history may complicate ties with Beijing and Seoul.

Her hawkish stance is also a worry for the LDP's longtime partnership with Komeito, a Buddhist-backed moderate party.

Also Read: Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce weighs in on Modi’s 10 trillion yen investment target

The Trump challenge

Apart from facing the challenges of domestic politics, Takaichi also has to deal with US President Donald Trump’s policy decision, which has significantly disrupted the global economy. She has hinted at the possibility of redoing an investment deal with U.S. President Donald Trump that lowered his punishing tariffs in return for Japanese taxpayer-backed investment, reported Reuters.

The report further states that her nationalistic positions, including regular visits to the Yasukuni shrine to Japan's war dead, viewed by some Asian countries as a symbol of its past militarism, may agitate Japan’s neighbours like South Korea and China.

(With agency inputs)