Who is Japan’s ‘Iron Lady’ Sanae Takaichi?

Respected figure: Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Personal goal: to become Japan’s Iron Lady.

After two failed attempts, Sanae Takaichi finally achieved her long-held ambition.

The 64-year-old was elected leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on its 70th anniversary – putting her on course to become the country’s first female prime minister.

A former government minister and TV host, and once a drummer in a heavy metal band, she will now face the challenge of leading a party still struggling to regain voter trust after scandals, while responding to a rising far right.

Born in Nara Prefecture in 1961, Takaishi’s father was an office worker and her mother a police officer. Politics was far removed from her upbringing.

Once an avid heavy metal drummer, she was famous for carrying many sticks because she would break them during intense drumming. She was also a scuba diver and a car enthusiast – her beloved Toyota Supra is now displayed in a Nara museum.

Before entering politics, Takaichi worked briefly as a television host.

Her political inspiration came in the 1980s, during the height of US-Japan trade friction. Determined to understand American perceptions of Japan, she worked in the office of Democrat Patricia Schroeder, a congresswoman known for her criticism of Japan.

Takaichi saw Americans mixing up Japanese, Chinese and Korean language and cuisine, observing how Japan was often grouped together with China and South Korea.

“Unless Japan can defend itself, its fate will always be at the mercy of shallow US opinion,” she concluded.

She ran in her first parliamentary election in 1992 as an independent but lost.

She persisted, winning a seat a year later and joining the LDP in 1996. Since then, she has been elected as an MP 10 times, losing only once, and built a reputation as one of the party’s most outspoken conservative voices.

She has also held senior government roles, including minister for economic security, state minister for trade and industry, and a record-breaking tenure as minister for internal affairs and communications.

In 2021, Takaichi first entered the LDP leadership race but lost to Fumio Kishida. She tried again in 2024, this time topping the first round of voting but ultimately losing to Shigeru Ishiba.

This year, on her third attempt, she secured victory – setting her on course to become Japan’s first female prime minister once parliament confirms her appointment.

“My goal is to become the Iron Lady,” she told a group of school children during her recent campaign.

Takaichi is a staunch conservative who has long opposed legislation allowing married women to keep their maiden names, insisting it undermines tradition. She is also against same sex marriage.

However, she has recently softened her tone. During her campaign she vowed to make babysitter fees partially tax-deductible and proposed corporate tax breaks for companies that provide in-house childcare services.

Her family and personal experiences underpin her policy proposals: expanding hospital services for women’s health, giving household support workers greater recognition, and improving care options for Japan’s ageing society.

“I have personally experienced nursing and caregiving three times in my life,” she said. “That’s why my determination has only grown stronger to reduce the number of people forced to leave their jobs due to caregiving, child-rearing or children refusing to attend school. I want to create a society where people don’t have to give up their careers.”

A protégé of the late Shinzo Abe, she pledged to revive his “Abenomics” economic vision of high public spending and cheap borrowing.

She has been a regular visitor to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japan’s war dead including convicted war criminals.

She has also called for easing constitutional restrictions on the country’s Self-Defence Forces, which are forbidden from having offensive capabilities.

Since its foundation in 1955, LDP has dominated Japanese politics, but it is now losing ground amid frustration with a sluggish economy, demographic decline and social discontent.

Takaichi belongs to the right-wing side of the LDP, and in electing her the LDP is hoping to win back conservative voters who have gravitated towards the far-right Sanseito party.

Sanseito, running on a “Japan First” slogan, has recently surged from one to 15 seats, drawing away conservative voters. The LDP has lost its majority in both houses of parliament.

Takaichi herself acknowledged the problem in a speech after winning the first round of voting: “We have received particularly harsh criticism from our core supporters, conservatives, and party members.”

“The LDP must change for the sake of Japan’s present and future. We will always put the national interest first and manage the country with a sense of balance.”

Parliament is expected to confirm her as prime minister on 15 October.