Sanae Takaichi has just been confirmed as Japan’s first female prime minister. More important than her gender might be her taste for head-banging — in music and politics.
In what has been a rock-and-roller-coaster two weeks, she unexpectedly emerged as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, swiftly followed by coalition partner Komeito abandoning their longtime alliance. What came next was a flurry of speculation that she might join the very short list of party leaders who never became prime minister. However, on Tuesday she made history after a frantic realignment of governing parties.
One of the few things the world knows about Takaichi is her fondness for heavy metal music. A former drummer in a group, she said bands such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest relieve her stress. She had plenty to deal with over the past 10 days, starting with the rupture with Komeito and the brief floating of contenders ready to snatch a premiership that looked like hers. She pulled off a turn-it-up-to-11 coup by securing the support of the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), an Osaka-based upstart that commands politics in the city.
That support means Takaichi assumes the mantle of her mentor, the late Shinzo Abe. Replacing Komeito with the JIP’s superior numbers in both houses of parliament means the LDP is closer to ending an era of minority government, and needs just a handful of lawmakers to pass legislation. And ideologically, the JIP is a lot closer to her LDP. Allowing a loyal partner to leave might have doomed her premiership. Takaichi, it seems, is not playing for a draw — or quietly.
Jurgen Klopp, the former Liverpool FC manager, christened his style of intense, high-energy play as “heavy metal football.” Perhaps this is “heavy metal politics:” embracing risk, willing to throw out prior notions and playing at intense pressure.
It is what the country needs in an era when its traditional ally in Washington is enforcing tariffs and scrapping traditional norms for regional security. Is heavy metal politics what we should expect of the prime minister going forward? Many a Japanese leader has flattered to deceive. If you think it is going to be plain sailing, then You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’.
Markets at least are rocking. Once stocks got the signal that the stimulus-friendly Takaichi was going to make it into office, the Nikkei 225 had its seventh-biggest gain in history on Monday.
At the very least, this is not another ashen-faced, gray-suited man in the role, even discounting the novelty of her gender, as Takaichi encourages us to. Her predecessor, the hapless Shigeru Ishiba, seemingly had no goals beyond simply becoming prime minister. We should not expect the same of Takaichi, who has ambitious beliefs about Japan’s place in the world. Yet she has recently displayed a level of political flexibility that many feared she might not possess. The key to her longevity is to display that same pragmatism, reining in her more extreme tendencies and allies while pursuing bold policies.
Her first press conference as prime minister was a good start, with Takaichi eschewing any controversial subjects, acknowledging that her top priority would be tackling voters’ chief concern of inflation, and declaring that her Cabinet would be one of decisiveness and progress.
The JIP might prove a good short-term partner for the LDP. However, the collapse of the quarter-century old Komeito alliance threatens to further destabilize Japanese politics after a series of events, from the assassination of Abe in 2022 to the collapse of the LDP’s faction system, that have already made even midterm forecasting near impossible. The junior partner was a vote-winning machine for the LDP, but the JIP does not have that level of national reach. Despite not formally joining the Cabinet, the JIP is making demands: reducing the number of members of parliament, social security reform, and pitching for Osaka to be a backup capital— which is at its core an attempt to wrest control of tax revenue out of Tokyo’s hands.
Splitting up with Komeito has been compared to two retirees deciding to go their separate ways. The JIP partnership instead could undergo a “Narita Divorce” — a ’90s joke about newlyweds who go on honeymoon only to find each other so disagreeable they file for separation on arrival back at the airport.
To avoid that, the prime minister must make the LDP palatable again. The next lower house vote is not scheduled until 2028, but she might push that up. In the interim, she needs to implement policies that show voters she is taking their concerns about inflation, immigration and party corruption seriously.
In Iron Maiden terms, the cards that Takaichi holds are Aces High. However, if she does not turn the LDP around quickly, her term might be seen as yet more Wasted Years.
Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and the Koreas. He previously led the breaking news team in North Asia, and was the Tokyo deputy bureau chief. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
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