Japan on Tuesday appointed the first female prime minister in its history: nationalist Sanae Takaichi, who has already dashed some hopes by appointing only two female ministers to her government.
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Mto me Takaichi, 64, was elected by both houses of the Japanese Diet to succeed Shigeru Ishibe. Containing her excitement, the new prime minister bowed several times to the deputies.
Her appointment will become official when she meets Emperor Naruhito today.
Sanae Takaichi became president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP, the conservative right) in early October, having been in power almost continuously since 1955 but having lost its majority in both houses of parliament in recent months, in part due to a financial scandal.
Her traditional ally, the centrist Komeito party, has slammed the door on its coalition since 1999, unhappy with the scandal and Ms. Takaichi's conservative views.
She secured her nomination by striking an alliance on Monday with the Japan Innovation Party (Isin), a center-right reform group.
The length of Japan's fifth government in as many years will depend “on the stability of this coalition,” said Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo.
“Another determining factor will be her decision whether or not to call legislative elections: “if she did that and lost (seats), it would have a very negative impact on her image.”
Two women in government
Having gained access to responsibilities, Mto me Takaichi is “making history,” greeted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
But Ms. Takaichi, who promised a leader with a “Scandinavian” number of women, ultimately appointed only two, the same number as in the Ishiba government.
These are the ultra-conservative Satsuki Katayama, who is responsible for finance, and Kimi Onoda for economic security.
Japan ranks 118th out of 148 in the World Economic Forum's 2025 Gender Gap Report, and only 15% of the lower house of parliament is women.
Ms. Takaichi's stance on gender equality places her to the right of the already conservative PLD: she thus opposes revising the law requiring married couples to have the same surname and supports imperial succession reserved for men.
In the western city of Nara, where Ms. Takaichi is from, we applaud her rise: “She has really risen through the ranks. She has worked hard to get there,” Satoshi Sakamoto, a 73-year-old retiree, told AFP.
Although US President Donald Trump is due to visit Japan next week, Mr Sakamoto said he wanted the new leader to “have the ability to clearly say no when necessary”.
Possible points of disagreement include the still-fuzzy contours of the $550 billion investment Japan envisioned as part of a trade deal with Washington.
Mr Trump also wants Tokyo to stop importing Russian energy and increase defense spending.
Discussions about hardened China
Mto me Takaichi will also have to contend with Japan's demographic decline and the recovery of the world's fourth-largest economy.
Sanae Takaichi has advocated increasing government spending to revive the economy, as did her mentor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Although she has toned down her rhetoric in recent weeks, her victory pushed the Tokyo Stock Exchange to a record high.
Internationally, she has felt in the past that Japan has been “completely despised by China” and that Tokyo must “face the security threat” posed by Beijing while calling for closer security cooperation with Taiwan.
Mto me Takaichi, however, has recently softened her language on China and last week wisely refrained from visiting Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japan's militaristic past for Japan's neighbors.
China's Foreign Ministry said it “took note of the Japanese election results” and hoped Tokyo would “fully advance strategic and mutually beneficial relations” between the two neighbors.
