Conservative Sanae Takaichi yesterday hailed a “new era” after becoming head of Japan’s ruling party, putting her on course to become the country’s first female prime minister.
The 64-year-old, whose hero is former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, said that a “mountain of work” lay ahead to restore the fortunes of her ailing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
The LDP has governed Japan almost uninterrupted for decades, but it has been hemorrhaging support as backing grows for smaller parties, including the anti-immigration Sanseito.
Photo: EPA
Takaichi, a heavy metal drummer as a student, would almost certainly be approved by the Japanese Diet later this month as Japan’s prime minister.
She is to face a host of complex issues including an aging population, geopolitical upheaval, a faltering economy and growing unease about immigration.
“Together with so many of you, we have carved a new era for the LDP,” Takaichi said at the party headquarters after winning a runoff vote against the telegenic and more socially progressive Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi.
“We must all pull together across all generations and work as one to rebuild [the LDP]... Everyone will have to work like a horse,” she said.
Koizumi, 44, would have been Japan’s youngest prime minister in the modern era and represented a generational change for the LDP.
One of Takaichi’s first official duties as prime minister would be receiving US President Donald Trump, who is reportedly set to make a stopover in Japan late this month.
Takaichi said yesterday that she had no plans to overturn Tokyo’s recent trade deal — over which questions remain — with Washington.
Takaichi has been a strident critic of China’s military buildup, and as a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, her appointment might irk Beijing and Seoul.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to her win by saying that “it is hoped that Japan will abide by ... its political commitments on major issues such as history and Taiwan, [and] pursue a positive and rational policy toward China.”
However, primarily for LDP members, Takaichi’s task would be to restore the fortunes of the party, which has governed almost non-stop since 1955.
Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took the reins last year, but his LDP-led coalition lost its majority in both houses of parliament, in part because of voter anger at inflation and an LDP slush fund scandal.
One party on the up is Sanseito, which echoes other populist movements in calling immigration a “silent invasion” and blames newcomers for a host of ills.
Japan should “reconsider policies that allow in people with completely different cultures and backgrounds,” Takaichi said during the LDP campaign.
People born abroad make up just 3 percent of the population, and Japan, with an aging population, is in dire need of foreign workers.
On the economy, Takaichi has in the past backed aggressive monetary easing and big fiscal spending, echoing her mentor, late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Coming from the traditionalist wing of the LDP, celebrations that finally a woman is leading Japan might soon turn to disappointment.
Takaichi “has no interest in women’s rights or gender equality policies,” Tokai University academic Yuki Tsuji said.
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