Zürcher Nachrichten - Sanae Takaichi, Japan's triumphant first woman PM

Instead, it is her hardline stance on China, workaholic reputation and deft touch, especially with the young, that have shaped her still fledgling premiership and won endorsement from US President Donald Trump.

Takaichi, 64, looked to have won a resounding victory in snap lower house elections on Sunday, likely with a handy two-thirds majority for her ruling bloc that will put her in a powerful position to push through her legislative agenda.

A hawk on defence and economic security, she became Japan's fifth leader in as many years after winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership in October.

She inherited a struggling LDP that voters had deserted en masse because of inflation, a slush fund scandal and the advent of the populist, anti-immigration Sanseito party.

True to her reputation as an ultraconservative, Takaichi as prime minister has sounded tough on immigration and has not shied away from incurring the wrath of China.

She suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily if China ever launched an attack on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as part of its territory.

- Vocal critic -

The remark sparked a diplomatic row, with China announcing in January a broad ban on the export to Japan of "dual-use" goods with potential military applications.

Beijing has also reportedly been choking off exports of the rare earth products crucial for making everything from electric cars to missiles.

It was not the first time Takaichi has been on the wrong side of China.

As a former economic security minister, she was a vocal critic of Beijing and its military build-up in the Asia-Pacific.

She has been supportive of Taiwan, saying during a visit in April that it was "crucial" to strengthen security cooperation between Taipei and Tokyo.

She has also been a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours convicted war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead and is seen by Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

- Heavy metal and gifts for Trump -

Once a drummer in a college heavy metal band, she put her musical skills to full use last month when she played two K-pop songs during a session with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

Official footage of a smiling Takaichi drumming energetically with Lee led to widespread praise online, with some so surprised they wondered if the clip was AI-generated.

Echoing the playbook of her mentor, the assassinated former prime minister Shinzo Abe, she wasted no time after taking office in courting Trump, showering him with praise and gifts ranging from a golf bag and putter to American beef.

While declaring the late British prime minister Thatcher as her political idol, she has so far shown little sign of leveraging her gender to attract support.

Takaichi's views on gender in fact put her on the right of an already conservative LDP. She opposes revising a 19th century law requiring married couples to share the same surname, a rule that overwhelmingly results in women taking their husband's name.

She has been married twice to the same man, a former member of parliament. Takaichi took his name during the first marriage. In the second, he took hers.

Despite her campaign promise to improve the gender balance in her administration to "Nordic" levels, she appointed just two other women to her 19-strong cabinet.

Japan ranked 118 out of 148 in the World Economic Forum's 2025 Gender Gap Report, chiefly because of the under-representation of women in government.

She supports aggressive monetary easing and big fiscal spending, echoing the "Abenomics" of her mentor which, if implemented again, could rattle markets.

Takaichi has so far lived up to a vow she made after being elected LDP president in October: "I shall work, work, work, work and work."

She said in November she only sleeps between two and four hours every night, having raised eyebrows by arranging a 3:00 am staff meeting.

Y.Keller--NZN