TOKYO (AP) — Sanae Takaichi, a star of ultraconservative Japanese politics and a rare woman to rise in its male-dominated hierarchy, has been elected the country’s first female prime minister.
Takaichi, 64, is also the first woman to lead the Liberal Democratic Party that has dominated Japan’s postwar politics almost without interruption.
She admires former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and is a proponent of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative vision for Japan.
The leader of a country that ranks poorly internationally for gender equality, Takaichi had rarely mentioned the issue during the campaign.
She asked all party lawmakers to “work like a horse.” “I will abandon the word ‘work-life balance.’ I will work, work, work and work” — she said in comments that sparked strong, if mixed, online reactions.
TOKYO — Sanae Takaichi, a prominent figure in ultraconservative Japanese politics and one of the few women to advance in the male-dominated system, has been elected as the nation’s first female prime minister.
Takaichi, 64, is also the first female leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, which has virtually continuously controlled Japanese politics since the war.
She supports former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative outlook for Japan and has a strong admiration for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She frequents Yasukuni Shrine, which is venerated by China, the two Koreas, and other Asian victims of Japan’s World War II aggression. She is a China hawk.
Takaichi, the leader of a nation with a low global ranking for gender equality, had made few references to the issue throughout the campaign. She did say, “Now that the LDP has its first female president, its scenery will change a little,” following her election as the ruling party’s president. “.”.
Although she has little diplomatic experience, she was first elected to parliament in 1993 from her hometown of Nara and held important party and government positions, such as minister of economic security, internal affairs, and gender equality.
It’s well known that Takaichi works hard.
When Takaichi was a student, he rode a motorcycle and played drums in a heavy-metal band.
As a workaholic, she claims she would rather work from home than go out and interact with people. However, she claims that she has worked to strengthen her relationships with colleagues following two failed attempts to lead the LDP.
She urged lawmakers from all parties to “work like a horse.”. “.”.
Work-life balance is a term I will no longer use. She stated in comments that generated intense, if conflicting, online responses, “I will work, work, work and work.”.
fighting for acceptance in the party that is dominated by men.
In the LDP, female lawmakers have frequently been ignored for ministerial positions or pushed aside if they advocated for gender equality and diversity. Just 15% of the seats in Japan’s lower house, which is the more powerful of the two parliamentary chambers, are occupied by women. Of the 47 prefectural governors in Japan, only two are female.
By sticking to traditional opinions supported by male party heavyweights, Takaichi has previously avoided discussing gender issues.
Although she had promised to greatly increase the number of women in her government, she only named two ministers and one special aide on Monday. She is against same-sex marriage and changing the 19th-century rule requiring married couples to share a last name, and she is in favor of the imperial family’s male-only succession.
“Miss. Chiyako Sato, a political analyst and senior writer for the Mainichi newspaper, stated, “I doubt she would consider policies to recognize diversity because Takaichi’s policies are extremely hawkish.”.
Takaichi has supported funding for fertility and health care for women as part of the LDP’s policy to support women in fulfilling their traditional roles as obedient wives and mothers. In order to support women at work and in school, she emphasized the importance of educating men about female health while also acknowledging her own difficulties with menopause symptoms.
The hard-right historical and security views of the prime minister.
With his alliance with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, or Ishin no Kai, Takaichi is expected to shift the government to the right. Because of Takaichi’s ultraconservative views, the coalition’s previous partner, the moderate Komeito, who was backed by Buddhism, left.
She has denied that coercion was applied to Korean laborers and women who were held as sexual slaves for Japanese troops, and she has refused to acknowledge Japanese wartime aggression and atrocities. She participated in an effort to have school textbooks stop mentioning sexual slavery during the war.
Analysts say her revisionist views could make relations with Seoul and Beijing more difficult. Takaichi sent a religious ornament to commemorate Yasukuni’s autumn festival last week rather than going to the shrine in person, ostensibly to ease tensions. She stated that she intends to keep amicable relations with China and deepen her security alliance with South Korea.
