The recent international shift toward conservatism appears to be growing stronger with the election of Sanae Takaichi as the prime minister of Japan.
Takaichi’s rise to political prominence started in the late eighties. Upon her return to Japan after working as a congressional fellow at the office of U.S. representative Pat Schroeder (D – CO) in 1987, Takaichi grew into a TV personality and established herself in the field of international relations.
In 1993, she was elected to the Japanese parliament as a representative for her hometown of Nara, a prefecture in central Japan, as an independent, before joining the Liberal Democratic Party – a conservative party that’s continually held power in Japan since 1955 (with three brief exceptions: 1993-1994, 2009-2012, and 2024).
Under late prime minister Shinzo Abe – who Takaichi was thought to have a protégé-like relationship with, Takaichi served as minister of international communications from 2014 to 2017 and 2019 to 2020. On Oct. 4, Takaichi was elected leader of the LDP, making her Japan’s first female leader of a governing party.
And now – barely a month later, she was elected the first female prime minister of Japan.
Though Takaichi might be making history for Japanese women with her torrent of firsts, many believe that her prime ministership might not usher in the era of gender equality that one would typically anticipate. For one, Takaichi is the head of a conservative party that appears to be shifting further to the right (more on this later).
But more than that, Takaichi has repeatedly taken stances on several key gender-related issues that go against the fiber of gender equality movements. According to NPR, Takaichi “has long advocated for traditional gender roles, oppos[ing] same-sex marriage and support[ing] male-only succession to the Japanese throne.”
This view manifested particularly significantly in Takaichi’s stance on the surname of married women. Under Japanese law, married couples are required to have the same surname. Yet, despite herself using her maiden name professionally after marriage (though she legally changed it) and her husband later taking her maiden name after their remarriage in 2021, Takaichi opposes “legislation that would allow married couples to have separate surnames,” according to the BBC.
Returning to Takaichi’s political alignment, Takaichi, as mentioned earlier, is the leader of one of Japan’s strongest conservative parties (despite its misleading name), a party that appears to be growing more conservative in light of recent actions. As Japan’s conservative base gravitates “towards…parties further to the right,” according to the BBC, the LDP – the party Takaichi now heads – found itself allying with a right-wing populist party to secure Takaichi’s election as prime minister. And then, there is, of course, Takaichi’s long-time role hero and admiration for conservative British former prime minister Margaret Thatcher to consider.
From an economic standpoint, Takaichi, who previously served as Japan’s minister of economic security, seems well-equipped to address any issues that may arise, unlike France’s recent drought of prime ministers. And the economy seems to have just as much faith in her: Japan’s Nikkei 225 index hit record highs after Takaichi’s election as the LDP’s leader in early October, and Japanese stocks closed at record highs again on Monday after her election as prime minister.
As nations across the globe – from France to Madagascar to Nepal and Peru – experience turmoil and political instability, Japan proves to be an exception. And Takaichi’s election as prime minister – with the resounding ramifications her election has already had on the economy – holds a twinkle of hope for a less turbulent future.
