Sanae Takaichi makes history as Japan’s first female Prime Minister amid controversial conservative views

Sanae Takaichi was elected by the lower house of Japan’s Diet becoming the country’s first female prime minister after securing 237 votes, just above the 233 needed for a majority in the 465-seat chamber. She is expected to be formally approved by the upper house and sworn in later today as Japan’s 104th prime minister. Ms. Takaichi succeeds Shigeru Ishiba, bringing an end to three months of political uncertainty and internal strife that followed the Liberal Democratic Party’s crushing defeat in the July elections.

Mr. Ishiba lasted only one year as Prime Minister, resigned with his Cabinet earlier in the day.

Takaichi’s confirmation in the lower house came after a coalition agreement with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), a move that helped the weakened Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) cobble together enough support to push her across the finish line.


The LDP’s pact with the Osaka-based Japan Innovation Party (Ishin no Kai) secured Ms. Takaichi’s path to power amid a divided opposition. Yet, the coalition still falls short of a majority in both houses of parliament. Her government’s survival may hinge on fragile alliances with smaller opposition parties.

Who is Sanae Taakaichi?

Takaichi, 64, is a veteran LDP lawmaker and a onetime economic security minister who has long been identified with the party’s conservative wing and as a political protege of the late Shinzo Abe. Her rise to the LDP presidency earlier this month, when she beat Shinjiro Koizumi in a party runoff, made her the first woman to lead Japan’s dominant postwar party and positioned her to become the nation’s first female premier.

Born on March 1961, Takaichi was raised in Nara, a historic city renowned for its Buddhist heritage. Her father worked as a salesman for an equipment manufacturing company, while her mother served in the Nara police force. She later earned a degree in business management from Kobe University.

Analysts say the alliance gives Takaichi a path to power but leaves her governing bloc short of a comfortable, long-term majority in both chambers.

She is reportedly one of the Japanese politicians who advocate for male-only succession in the imperial family, oppose same-sex marriage, and resist permitting married couples to adopt separate surnames.