J apan made history when its governing party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) elected on 4 October 2025 a hard-line ultra-conservative and China hawk, Sanae Takaichi as the first woman to head the embattled governing party, paving the way for her to become prime minister of the coalition government.
Takaichi’s victory in the leadership race has generated international excitement and led to a flurry of mis- and disinformation about her views and policies. She is being portrayed as a radical right-winger and a strong advocate of strong military and constitutional revision, which have created plenty of anxiety in China and South Korea. Japan’s pacifist constitution, in particular Article 9 that prevents Japan from maintaining a strong military, raised concerns about security as the security environment in Japan’s neighbourhood has deteriorated considerably, exposing the country’s vulnerability to external threats.
Views on having a strong military in Japan are no longer radical and there is greater acceptability of such a view. The concern that Takaichi shall take Japan on a militaristic path is completely misplaced. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was the first to raise the issue of constitutional reform but found the path arduous. The process of amending Article 9 of the constitution is too complicated. The next best thing was to dilute the spirit of Article 9 by adopting measures for collective self-defence, thereby fulfilling the objective half-way.
So, to fear that Takeichi shall go further to change Japan’s security posture dramatically is like building castles in the air. The fear stems from the fact that she was a backer of Abe and that she shall pursue Abe’s path more vigorously. There are also concerns about Takaichi’s leadership as she holds extreme views on gender equality, which is seen as a setback. On the contrary, she could be an inspiration for other women to follow in her footsteps. Her goal is to have more women in her Cabinet on par with Nordic countries. The obstacle in her way would, however, be that there are not many female lawmakers who can figure in Takaichi’s calculation.
It needs to be remembered that when Abe returned as the LDP leader in 2012, similar concerns were raised as in the case of Takaichi – that Abe was a radical conservative who was dangerously nationalistic. Doomsayers predicted that Abe would seek the return of Japanese militarism and his economic spending would collapse the economy. Nothing of the sort happened. Therefore, there is not much to worry about Takaichi’s political credentials. Normally, the election of a new leader in Japan does not create much international excitement.
But being the first female to be the prime minister, her credentials have come under scrutiny. The news of her formally becoming the Prime Minister on 15 October jolted the markets and energised both sides of the political spectrum. To paint Takaichi as a conservative and ultranationalist, a radical or a female Donald Trump would smack of ignorance and misunderstanding of Japanese politics. The fact that Takaichi immensely benefitted from the policies pursued by Abe, her mentor who remained in power for eight long years, cannot be disputed.
Abe accomplished things like greatly expanding women’s roles in the workplace, something Takaichi is now benefiting from. His visits to the contentious Yasukuni Shrine, which commemorates Japan’s war dead, including Class A war criminals of World War II, are being quoted, about which China and South Korea make a noise. On the gender issue, she has no love for ideas such as separate names for married couples. She opposes same-sex marriage, though she supports same-sex partnerships. Takaichi is a workaholic. During her acceptance speech, she said she would “work, work, work, work, work” for the good of the country and encouraged lawmakers to do the same.
In contrast to her predecessor Shigeru Ishiba, who spoke about the toughness of the job, Takaichi rubbishes the phrase “work-life balance”. Japanese salaried men are notorious for being workaholics. There are cases of Karoshi, death from overwork, which led to a demand by activists to reduce work hours. The activists slammed Takaichi for her views and recklessness. The point overlooked however was that Takaichi was speaking with the LDP lawmakers, not airing her views to the public. After all, politicians are expected to work more for the welfare of the people.
Takaichi was clearly misunderstood on this point. There is talk that under Takaichi Japan will see Abenomics 2.0, with a huge surge of fiscal spending and the Bank of Japan following along. Though in the past she had been an advocate for free-spending policies, she would be constrained in forcing through such radical plans as the coalition lacks a majority in both houses of the Diet. Takaichi should feel lucky to have calmer heads such as 85-year-old Taro Aso, whose advice and guidance would be of immense value to her. Takaichi already has entrusted members of the faction led by Aso with key positions, while excluding her factional rival, Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his allies close to former Prime Ministers Yoshihide Suga, Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba.
replaced Suga with Aso as the party’s vice president, the position he held under former Prime Minister Kishida. She named the party’s former general council affairs chair Shunichi Suzuki as secretary-general, the party’s No. 2. The eldest son of former Prime Minister Zenko Suzuki and Aso’s brother-in-law, the 72-year-old Suzuki will be in charge of the LDP’s overall operations. While Takaichi has already frozen the party’s top four posts, she could possibly face some stumbling blocks from her coalition partner, the Komeito.
The future of the coalition government looks uncertain as the junior and long-time partner Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito openly questioned Takaichi’s suitability as the leader of the coalition. Komeito’s concerns are over Takaichi’s stance on political funding scandals, historical issues and plans to expand their alliance. Her positions are viewed by some as a threat to Komeito’s influence and core values. Saito is categorical that without resolving the concerns of Komeito, there can be no coalition government. So, the challenges before Takaichi are huge. Political stability in Japan would depend on how Takaichi addresses such challenges.
(The writer is a former Senior Fellow at PMML, New Delhi)