Sanae Takaichi Poised to Become Japan’s First Female Prime Minister

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - In a historic and hard-fought election, former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi was elected the first female president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Saturday, a victory that all but guarantees she will become the nation's first-ever female prime minister.

The 64-year-old staunch conservative defeated her younger rival, farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi, in a tense runoff vote, capping a dramatic leadership contest that has laid bare the deep divisions within the long-dominant party.

Takaichi's ascent to the pinnacle of Japanese politics is a landmark moment for a country that has long lagged in gender equality, yet her victory is seen less as a triumph for feminist ideals and more as a strategic choice by a party grappling with declining public support and the rise of a new nationalist right.

Now, she faces the monumental task of uniting a fractured party, leading a minority government, and navigating a complex web of domestic and international challenges, including a precarious relationship with a hawkish China and a crucial alliance with the United States.

The leadership election, a consequential event that effectively determines Japan's next prime minister due to the LDP's control of parliament, came down to a head-to-head battle between two distinct political figures. In the end, Takaichi secured 185 votes in the runoff against Koizumi's 156.

She garnered the crucial support of 149 party lawmakers and 36 votes from the LDP's prefectural chapters, surpassing Koizumi's 145 lawmaker votes and 11 chapter votes. The runoff was necessary after none of the five candidates in the race managed to secure an outright majority in the first round of voting.

In that initial round, Takaichi had also placed first with 183 total votes, demonstrating a strong base of support among the party's rank-and-file members, from whom she drew 119 votes. Koizumi, the 44-year-old son of a popular former premier and seen as a candidate representing generational change, came in second with 164 votes, having secured more support from lawmakers but less from the party's grassroots.

In her victory speech, a sober and focused Takaichi acknowledged the immense challenges ahead. "I’m feeling how tough it’s going to be from here on, rather than feeling happy," she said. "We won’t be able to rebuild the party if I don’t get everyone’s help, from all generations."

In a statement that signaled her relentless work ethic, she added, "I will scrap my work-life balance and work and work and work and work." Koizumi, in a show of party unity, graciously conceded defeat and called on his supporters to rally behind the new president.

Takaichi, a Lower House lawmaker with over three decades of parliamentary experience, is a protege of the late, assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and has long been the standard-bearer for the LDP's conservative wing. She has consistently championed policies such as high government spending, a hawkish stance toward China, and a significantly larger defense budget.

She has also been a regular visitor to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honors convicted war criminals and is seen by neighboring Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's past militarism. However, in this, her third and ultimately successful bid for the party leadership, she made a noticeable effort to soften her image to broaden her appeal within the party.

She called China an "important neighbor" and, in a nod to the rise of even more hardline nationalist parties like Sanseito and the Conservative Party of Japan, she sought to reposition herself, stating, “I don’t want to be pigeonholed just as a conservative, I’m more of a moderate conservative now that all these parties have come out.”

This strategic moderation was a feature of a contest where, unlike in previous years, the policy differences between the candidates were less distinct. The Japan Times noted that all five contenders stayed away from overly controversial topics to avoid alienating lawmakers whose support would be decisive in a runoff.

They also left room for potential policy negotiations with opposition parties, a crucial consideration given the LDP's current political reality.

The first and most daunting task for the new LDP president is to navigate a precarious parliamentary landscape. An extraordinary session of the Diet, as Japan’s parliament is known, is expected to be convened in mid-October to formally elect the new prime minister.

While Takaichi's election is seen as highly likely, she will be leading a minority government, as the LDP-Komeito coalition does not hold a majority in either the Lower or Upper houses. This means that her government will need the cooperation of opposition parties to pass any legislation.

Takaichi has already indicated that she is eager to expand the ruling coalition before the prime ministerial vote, with constitutional revision, national security, diplomacy, and the economy being key policy areas for negotiation with any potential new partners.

Her immediate challenge will be to unite a party that has been visibly divided by the leadership race. Her choices for the new LDP executive lineup will be closely watched for signs of whether she will include her election rivals and their supporters in a bid to heal the rifts.

Simultaneously, she must quickly get up to speed on the diplomatic front, with Tokyo and Washington already coordinating a possible bilateral meeting between the new prime minister and U.S. President Donald Trump for later this month.

While Takaichi's election is a historic milestone for women in Japanese politics, many analysts, as reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP), caution against viewing her as a "feminist choice." Sadafumi Kawato, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, noted that while her victory "would be a step forward for women’s participation in politics," Takaichi has shown little inclination to challenge the country's deeply entrenched patriarchal norms.

Her views on gender issues place her firmly on the right of the already conservative LDP. She has consistently opposed revising a 19th-century law that requires married couples to share a surname, a rule that overwhelmingly results in women taking their husband's name.

 Despite this, in her campaign speech, she did vow to improve the gender balance in her cabinet to "Nordic" levels, a significant promise in a country that ranked a dismal 118 out of 148 in the World Economic Forum's 2025 Gender Gap Report, primarily due to the severe underrepresentation of women in government.

Takaichi’s political identity is deeply influenced by her political hero, the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and her mentor, Shinzo Abe. She is a firm supporter of "Abenomics," the policy of aggressive monetary easing and large-scale fiscal spending that defined Abe's tenure, a potential return to which could rattle financial markets.

Once a drummer in a college heavy metal band, Takaichi now faces the challenge of orchestrating a complex political and economic recovery for a nation weary of political instability and economic stagnation.

Her election marks a new and uncertain chapter for Japan, one that will be led, for the first time, by a woman, but one whose conservative, nationalist-leaning policies may yet prove to be a continuation of a familiar political tune.