Sanae Takaichi: Profile and Journey of Japan's First Female Prime Minister

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Sanae Takaichi has made history in Japanese politics by being officially elected as the country's first female Prime Minister.

Her inauguration by parliament on October 21, 2025, marked a new era for Japan, following a long and competitive political landscape.

This victory is not only a personal achievement for Takaichi, but also a symbol of progress in gender representation in one of the world's largest economies.

She is known as a politician with strong ultra-nationalist and conservative views, often nicknamed the "Iron Lady" of Japan.

Breaking News: Sanae Takaichi is Japan’s first female prime minister. She’s a heavy metal drummer and hard-line conservative. https://t.co/vfyRnftmfc pic.twitter.com/f17GPcm71o

— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 21, 2025

Sanae Takaichi was born on March 7, 1961, in Yamatokoriyama City, Nara Prefecture, Japan.

She studied at Kobe University, a leading educational institution in Japan.

She is also a graduate of the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, an institution known for producing many political and business leaders.

Before entering politics, Sanae Takaichi had a diverse career by working as a writer, legislative aide, and television anchor.

Her experience included serving as a Congressional Fellow for U.S. Representative Pat Schroeder in the United States in the late 1980s, which gave her insight into Western political systems.

After returning to Japan in 1989, Takaichi wrote a book about her experiences in the U.S. Congress and briefly served as a TV Asahi news anchor.

She married Taku Yamamoto, a fellow member of the House of Representatives, in 2004, and although they divorced in 2017, they reconciled in December 2021.

Sanae Takaichi's political career began in the 1993 Japanese general election, where she was first elected to the House of Representatives as an independent candidate.

A year later, she joined the small Liberals party before eventually joining the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on November 5, 1996, a crucial step for her political career.

A protégé of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi held various important ministerial positions during Abe's tenure.

These positions included Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, Minister of State for Okinawa and Northern Territories Affairs, and Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy.

She also served as Minister of State for Economic Security from 2022 to 2024 under Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Sanae Takaichi has run for the LDP leadership three times.

After two unsuccessful attempts in 2021 and 2024, she finally won the 2025 LDP leadership election, defeating Shinjirō Koizumi.

This victory paved the way for her to be appointed Prime Minister by the National Diet on October 21, 2025, after the LDP formed a coalition with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP).

Sanae Takaichi is known as a politician with ultra-nationalist and hard-line conservative ideologies, earning her the nickname "Iron Lady" of Japan.

She admires Margaret Thatcher and is considered a potential successor to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

In the economic sphere, Takaichi supports proactive government spending and the continuation of "Abenomics," a strategy involving fiscal expansion, monetary easing, and structural reforms.

She has also openly criticized the Bank of Japan's interest rate hikes.

She opposes same-sex marriage and civil code revisions that would allow married couples to use separate surnames.

On foreign and defense policy, Takaichi is a supporter of revising Article Nine of the Japanese constitution to include mention of the Japan Self-Defense Forces.

Takaichi also takes a hard-line stance on immigration.