Who is Japan “Iron Lady” Sanae Takaichi?

Respected figure: Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Personal objective: to become the iron of Japan.

After two unsuccessful attempts, Sanae Takaichi finally reached her longtime ambition.

The 64 -year -old man was elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan at his 70th anniversary – putting her on the right track to become the first woman Prime Minister of the country.

Former Minister of the Government and television host, and once a drummer in a group of Heavy Metal, she will now face the challenge of leading a party which still has trouble regaining the confidence of voters after scandals, while responding to an increase in the extreme right.

Born in the prefecture of Nara in 1961, Takaishi’s father was an office worker and his mother a police officer. Politics were far from his education.

Once a drummer passionate about heavy metal, she was famous for transporting many sticks because she would break them during an intense drum. She was also a diving diver and a car enthusiast – her beloved Toyota Supra is now exhibited in a Nara museum.

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

His political inspiration occurred in the 1980s, at the height of the American-Japan commercial friction. Determined to understand the American perceptions of Japan, she worked at the office of the Democrat Patricia Schroeder, a deputy known for her criticism from Japan.

Takaichi has seen Americans mix Japanese, Chinese and Korean language and cuisine, observing how Japan was often grouped with China and South Korea.

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

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

She persisted, winning a siege a year later and joining the LDP in 1996. Since then, she was elected 10 times MP, losing only once and acquired as one of the most frank conservative votes in the party.

She also held high -level positions, including the Minister of Economic Security, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, and a record mandate as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications.

In 2021, Takaichi entered the LDP management race for the first time but lost against Fumio Kishida. She tried again in 2024, this time at the top of the first voting round but finally lost against Shigeru Ishiba.

This year, during her third attempt, she won the victory – the right way to become the first Prime Minister of Japan once the Parliament confirms her appointment.

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

Takaichi is a faithful curator who has long opposed legislation allowing married women to keep their young girl names, insisting that this undermines tradition. It is also against homosexual marriage.

However, she recently softened her tone. During her campaign, she promised to make partially deductible baby-sitter fees and offered corporate tax reductions for companies that provide internal childcare services.

His family and personal experiences underlie his policy proposals: expand hospital services for women’s health, offer household support workers greater recognition and improve care options for Japanese aging society.

“I personally experienced nursing and care three times in my life,” she said. “This is why my determination has only been strengthened to reduce the number of people forced to leave their jobs due to the provision of care, education for children or children refusing to go to school. I want to create a society where people do not have to abandon their careers.”

Protected by the late Shinzo Abe, she is committed to relaunching her “Abenomics” economic vision of high public spending and cheap loans.

She was a regular visitor to the controversial sanctuary of Yasukuni, who honors the deaths of the Japan war, including the condemned war criminals.

She also called upon to alleviate constitutional restrictions on the country’s self -defense forces, which are prohibited from having offensive capacities.

Since its foundation in 1955, the LDP has dominated Japanese policy, but it is now losing ground in the midst of frustration in the face of a slow economy, a demographic drop and a social dissatisfaction.

Takaichi belongs to the right side of the LDP, and by eliminating it, the LDP hopes to regain conservative voters who have gravity towards the far -right party of Sanseito.

Sanseito, running on a slogan “First First”, recently went from one to 15 seats, moving away from the conservative voters. The LDP has lost its majority in the two rooms of the Parliament.

Takaichi herself recognized the problem in a speech after winning the first voting round: “We received particularly severe criticisms of our main supporters, conservatives and party members.”

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

Parliament should confirm it as Prime Minister on October 15.