Tokyo
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Sanae Takaichi has loved heavy metal for most of her life.
Since playing drums in his college band, the 64-year-old politician has remained a fan of groups such as Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden. Japanese media reported that she used to play so hard that she carried four pairs of sticks as extra sticks in case they broke.
But unlike most metalheads who calm down with age, the woman likely to become Japan’s next prime minister remains passionate. She has an electric drum set at home and whenever she feels stressed, she usually belts out a song about her husband.
“I play after he goes to bed,” she joked in a recent interview with a Japanese YouTuber.
That same headbanging energy marked her steady, if unconventional, political rise.
On October 4, the staunch conservative and longtime member of parliament was elected president of Japan’s ruling party on her third try, becoming the first woman in history to do so. But her coalition prospects are in doubt, and her path to Japan’s top job is by no means guaranteed, with the party weakened by scandal and voter discontent.
Days after the Liberal Democratic Party leadership’s victory, which would normally have given him the prime ministership, Takaichi suffered an unexpected setback. The Liberal Democratic Party’s long-time coalition partner, Komeito, announced it would not participate in the government under her, citing deep-rooted distrust over the party’s political slush fund scandal. The split leaves Takaichi scrambling to secure enough parliamentary support to form a stable government.
And even if she were to become Japan’s first female prime minister, she would inherit a daunting list of challenges.
Takaichi has long championed conservative policies rooted in nationalist and traditionalist ideals. Her victory, a stunning victory in Japan’s deeply patriarchal political system, showed disillusioned Liberal Democratic Party voters that traditional conservatism is alive and well.
She is a prominent member of the ultra-nationalist lobby group Nippon Kaigi, which promotes patriotic education. She also supports amending Japan’s pacifist constitution, especially Article 9, which renounces war and prohibits military use.
Unlike many of his male colleagues, Takaichi does not come from a political dynasty. She was born in Nara Prefecture to a father who works for an automobile company and a mother who is a police officer.
Before entering politics, she interned for a Democratic Party member and worked as a television commentator, “wearing miniskirts, riding motorcycles, and expressing herself in a lively, unconventional way that was in contrast to the typical older male commentator,” Hajime Kidera, a professor at Meiji University’s School of Political Science and Economics, told CNN.
However, after becoming a member of the Diet in 1993 at the age of 32, Takaichi reportedly gave up his beloved Kawasaki Z400GP motorcycle to avoid an accident that would interfere with his work.
Her first political activity was as an independent member of the Japanese Diet. Around that time, she met the hairdresser who would style her hair for the next 30 years. Yukitoshi Arai told CNN that from the beginning, Takaichi aimed to be like Margaret Thatcher.
When Mr. Arai learned that Mr. Takaichi had won the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, he said, “I was so happy that I got goosebumps.”
Takaichi fondly recalled joining the Liberal Democratic Party in 1996 after her early political struggles, and said, “We decided to express her newfound determination through her hair, so we cut it short.” Thus was born the iconic Sanae cut, which is sophisticated, sharp and practical for busy politicians.
Takaichi has been re-elected nine times since joining the Liberal Democratic Party. She held several cabinet positions in charge of issues such as gender equality and population issues, and chaired the party’s policy research council. Most recently, he served as Minister of Economic Security under the Fumio Kishida administration.
Mr. Takaichi married in 2004. In a recent interview, she said she agreed to marry her husband, also a member of the Liberal Democratic Party, without even dating him.
He proposed over the phone and said he had had his eye on her for “a while.” His boldness and her recklessness may surprise some. But her husband is a trained chef.
“He told me, ‘You never go a day without eating something good,’ so I took the plunge,” she laughs, admitting that she’s not much of a cook.
If Takaichi becomes the next prime minister, Japan’s economic and demographic woes will be the immediate issues.
The country’s declining birthrate means a shrinking workforce to support the growing elderly population. Record-breaking inflation and a weak yen are also putting pressure on household budgets and pushing up the cost of living.
Immediately after her election, the yen hit a new low amid expectations for a massive fiscal stimulus package. Under his banner “SanaEnomics,” Mr. Takaichi advocated large-scale spending and low inflation, following in the footsteps of his mentor Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics.”
“Such talk could further weaken the yen and raise concerns about Japan’s debt levels. It’s also a serious concern for ordinary people who are already suffering from rising prices,” said Kidera, a political science professor at Meiji University.
Trade relations with the United States could be challenging, particularly over the $550 billion Japan-U.S. investment agreement announced in September, which Takaichi had previously said he might reconsider.
Currently, Japan’s investment in the United States is in sectors such as semiconductors, energy, pharmaceuticals, and shipbuilding, and at the same time, Japan purchases $8 billion of American agricultural products annually. In return, the United States lowered tariffs on Japanese products, including automobiles, to 15% of the standard.
Few details about the $550 billion investment deal have been disclosed, and given President Donald Trump’s volatile nature, Takaichi is likely waiting to see how this plays out, said Rintaro Nishimura, a senior associate at consulting firm Asia Group.
Her first test in Washington could come soon. If Takaichi is able to form a coalition and President Trump has time in his schedule around the ASEAN summit, it is possible they could meet at the end of October, or even within just a few days of taking office as prime minister.
But despite her short runway, comparisons between the two conservative leaders are already being drawn. As a disciple of Prime Minister Abe, who forged a close relationship with President Trump, Takaichi is expected to follow his master’s diplomatic strategy. Like Abe, Takaichi is calling for a significant increase in Japan’s defense budget, a move likely to be welcomed by the Trump administration, which has pushed Japan to move closer to NATO’s 5% threshold.
Geopolitics will further test her leadership. Takaichi, known as a China hawk, has previously suggested that Chinese residents in Japan have an “obligation to support Chinese espionage activities.” She also claims Japan’s war crimes are exaggerated and regularly visits the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals, are enshrined. Several of her cabinet nominees have close ties to Taiwan, risking friction with the government of China, Japan’s largest trading partner.
However, analysts expect him to soften his stance on visiting Yasukuni Shrine once he becomes prime minister. “In reality, Takaichi will follow the logic of pragmatic diplomacy. She will need to tone down the anti-China comments she has made so far,” political analyst Nishimura told CNN.
There are already signs of moderation. Mr. Takaichi has said that he will not visit Yasukuni Shrine during the annual autumn festival, which is likely to reassure his coalition partners who are worried.
Her election could also blunt the rise of the Sanblue Party, a right-wing populist party that surged in July on an anti-immigration platform. In the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, all five candidates promised to strengthen measures against foreigners. But Takaichi stood out for his rhetoric, vowing to crack down on visitors and immigrants who break rules.
She also cited an unconfirmed anecdote about a tourist allegedly kicking a sacred deer in her hometown of Nara, a remark that drew criticism. She later revealed that her purpose was to highlight the growing anxiety and anger among many Japanese people towards “outrageous” foreigners.
Takaichi must rebuild public trust at home after years of scandal within his party. In 2022, the relationship between some Liberal Democratic Party members and the former Unification Church was exposed, damaging the party’s reputation. Public dissatisfaction deepened the following year when several lawmakers were accused of failing to report their income or disclose kickbacks.
Critics say Takaichi’s controversial record on women’s rights will be another test of her public appeal. He opposes allowing married women to have different surnames, and also opposes female succession to the imperial family. Still, during her 2025 campaign, she proposed tax breaks for babysitters and corporate incentives for on-site child care, perhaps a sign of a cautious shift toward more women-friendly policies.
Mr. Takaichi’s rise to power has shocked Japan’s political situation. Poised but far from certain to become the country’s first female prime minister, she is seeking to return the Liberal Democratic Party to its conservative roots after years of centrist leadership.
The question now is whether Takaichi’s election and the LDP’s bet on him will revive the party’s fortunes or hasten its decline.
