From 2022 to 2024, during Fumio Kishida's premiership, she served as the Minister of State for Economic Security. Takaichi made her second run for the party leadership in the 2024 leadership election, where she came in first in the first round but narrowly lost in a runoff to her predecessor Shigeru Ishiba. She eventually ran again in the 2025 leadership election for the third time and placed first in both rounds of voting, defeating Shinjirō Koizumi, and becoming the party's first female president. Following the end of the LDP–Komeito coalition, Takaichi secured a coalition agreement with the Japan Innovation Party, and was elected prime minister by the National Diet on 21 October.
Takaichi was born on 7 March 1961 in Yamatokōriyama, Nara Prefecture, to a dual-income middle class family. Her father, Daikyū Takaichi (1934–2013),[5] worked for an automotive firm affiliated with Toyota. Her mother, Kazuko Takaichi (1932–2018),[6] served in the Nara Prefectural Police[ja].[7][8] Takaichi graduated from Nara Prefectural Unebi High School[ja]. Despite qualifying to matriculate at Keio and Waseda universities in Tokyo,[9] she did not attend as her parents refused to cover tuition fees if she left home or chose a private university because she was a woman.[10][9]
Instead, Takaichi commuted six hours from her family home to attend Kobe University, paying her way with part-time work.[11] During her university years she joined a band, playing the drums.[11] In 1984, she graduated from Kobe with a bachelor's degree in business administration, then enrolled in the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management.[12][13]
In 1987, with sponsorship from Matsushita Institute, she moved to the United States to work as a congressional fellow for Democratic congresswoman Pat Schroeder.[8][14][15] In 1989, upon her return to Japan, she worked as a legislative analyst with knowledge of American politics, and wrote books based on her experience. In March 1989, she became a presenter for TV Asahi, co-hosting the station's Kodawari TV Pre-Stage program with Renhō. In November 1990, Takaichi was employed as a presenter for Fuji Television, later serving as anchor of the morning information program Asa Da! Dō Naru[ja].[16][17]
Political career
Political beginnings
Takaichi first attempted to run for the Nara Prefecture Electoral District of the House of Councillors during the 1992 House of Councillors elections. She eventually ran as an independent candidate and competed with Mitsuo Hattori for the post, after Mitsuo's father, Yasuji Hattori, decided not to run for the post. Of the 313 eligible voters, Takaichi lost to Hattori as Hattori received a total of 162 votes while Takaichi received a total of 137 votes and 1 invalid vote. Hattori was later proclaimed as the winner of the election.[14]
In 1996, Takaichi ran as a sanctioned candidate from the New Frontier Party and was re-elected to the House of Representatives, despite the New Frontier Party losing nationally. On 5 November, she responded to recruitment from the Secretary-General of the LDPKoichi Kato and joined the LDP. Her act of switching parties, two months after winning the election with anti-LDP votes, resulted in heavy criticism from New Frontier Party members.[20]
After the LDP's victory in the 2012 Japanese general election, Takaichi was appointed to head the party's Policy Research Council (自由民主党政務調査会長). In January 2013, she recommended that Abe issue an "Abe Statement" to replace the Murayama Statement that apologized for "tremendous damage and suffering" brought by Japan's "colonial rule and aggression".[25] In 2015, the day before the 70th anniversary of the surrender of Japan, Abe gave the official Cabinet statement, declaring that previous apologies including Murayama's will "remain unshakeable" but arguing against current or future apologies.[26][27] The statement was criticized by state media in China[28] and North Korea,[29] and Yonhap News Agency in South Korea.[28]
In September 2014, Takaichi was selected as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications to replace Yoshitaka Shindō. After she was named as a cabinet minister, a photograph was published of her together with Kazunari Yamada in 2011, the leader of the National Socialist Japanese Workers' Party – a small neo-Nazi party in Japan. Yamada was also pictured with LDP policy chief Tomomi Inada.[30] Yamada stated that the pictures were taken when he visited Inada and Takaichi's offices "for talks", according to his blog.[30] Takaichi denied any link with Yamada and said she would not have accepted the picture had she known Yamada's background.[31] Takaichi was also shown promoting a controversial book praising Adolf Hitler's electoral talents in 1994.[32]
In 2014, Takaichi was among the three members of the cabinet to visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine,[33] became the first sitting cabinet member to attend the shrine's autumn festival in 2016,[34] and was one of four cabinet ministers who visited Yasukuni on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in August 2020.[35] In the December 2014 general election, she won an overwhelming 96,000-vote majority in her district, defeating the runner-up by 58,000 votes.[36]
In February 2016, Takaichi commented that the government could suspend the operations of broadcasters that aired politically biased content.[37][38] The U.S. State Department later described this as "[giving] rise to concerns about increasing government pressure against critical and independent media."[39] An electoral redistricting in 2017, which Takaichi oversaw as internal affairs minister, eliminated one of Nara Prefecture's districts and resulted in Takaichi again potentially facing off with her former rival Sumio Mabuchi.[22] Takaichi was replaced by Seiko Noda in August 2017, but returned to the Internal Affairs and Communications post in September 2019, replacing Masatoshi Ishida. Among other initiatives, she put pressure on NHK to cut its licence fee and reform its governance,[40] and oversaw the distribution of cash handouts during the COVID-19 pandemic.[41]
Kishida government (2022–2024)
From August 2022, Takaichi served as Minister of State for Economic Security in Kishida's government.[42] She was in charge of preparing a bill to implement a security clearance system for classified information relating to economic security. The lack of such a system had prevented Japan from joining the Five Eyes.[43] The bill was made law by the Diet in May 2024.[44]
Several days later, on 7 March 2023, the Internal Affairs ministry confirmed that the document was created by ministerial officials, and opposition Diet members called on Takaichi to resign.[46] Following the announcement, Takaichi held to her position that the remarks attributed to her within the document were fabricated, adding that Konishi should bear the burden of proving the document's authenticity.[46]
In August 2023, Takaichi expressed concern that plans to sell the government's stake in Nippon Telegraph and Telephone could make Japan's telecommunications infrastructure vulnerable to China.[47]
Takaichi giving a speech for LDP presidential election in Nagoya, September 2025
In August 2021, Takaichi expressed her willingness to challenge then-Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for the presidency of the LDP in the scheduled election on 29 September.[48] On 3 September, Suga announced that he would not seek re-election; Takaichi officially announced her bid on 8 September with the support of former prime minister Abe.[49] Takaichi was eliminated in the first round of voting, and Fumio Kishida was elected.[50]
In August 2024, former prime minister Fumio Kishida announced that he would not seek re-election on his post as the President of the LDP. On 9 September, Takaichi announced her second bid to become LDP leader. Among the nine contenders, Takaichi emerged as a frontrunner alongside Shigeru Ishiba and Shinjiro Koizumi. Ultimately, she came first in the first round of voting with 181 votes, but was defeated by Ishiba in the runoff election with 215 votes to Takaichi's 194 votes.[51]
Following Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's announcement his resignation in September 2025, Takaichi announced her candidacy for LDP president in the resulting leadership election on 18 September 2025.[52] In early polling, Takaichi and agricultural minister Shinjirō Koizumi were identified as the frontrunners.[53] Ultimately, Takaichi won both rounds, defeating Koizumi with 185 votes to 156 votes in the runoff and becoming the first woman to hold the post of LDP president.[54]
LDP presidency
Upon her election as party president, it was already speculated that a Takaichi government would accommodate an interest rate increase by the Bank of Japan early in her possible tenure as prime minister.[55] After her election, the Nikkei 225 share gauge surged past the 47,000 level for the first time, and the yen slid in terms of its value.[55] The Nikkei rose over 4% to hit a record high and the index closed 4.75% higher to end the trading day,[56] while the value of the yen lost 1.8% against the dollar.[57]
On 10 October, Komeito party leader Tetsuo Saito announced that his party would break with the LDP and leave the governing coalition, citing disagreements with Takaichi's leadership and the LDP's handling of the slush fund scandal.[58][59] This development signified the collapse of the 26-year-old LDP–Komeito coalition.[59] As a result, the parliamentary election to choose Japan's next prime minister was pushed back from 15 to 20 October.[58][60] On 15 October, Takaichi asked Hirofumi Yoshimura, the leader of the Japan Innovation Party, to enter into a coalition with the LDP.[61]
On 17 October, the National Diet voted to set 21 October as the session confirmation date.[62] On 19 October, the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party agreed to form a coalition. The leaders of both parties signed a coalition agreement the following day, clearing Takaichi's path to the premiership.[63][64] At the 21 October meeting of the National Diet, both houses nominated Takaichi to succeed Shigeru Ishiba as prime minister.[65] Takaichi avoided a runoff in the lower house, garnering 237 votes against Constitutional Democratic Party leader Yoshihiko Noda's 149.[66] She was officially appointed prime minister by Emperor Naruhito in a ceremony at the Tokyo Imperial Palace later that day.[67] She became both the first woman,[68] and the first person from Nara Prefecture to hold the post.[69]
Takaichi stands in the National Diet following her nomination as prime minister
After becoming prime minister on 21 October,Takaichi formed her cabinet. While she had said that she wanted her cabinet to include as many women as those in the Nordic countries,[70][71] only two women actually joined the cabinet:Satsuki Katayama as Japan's first female finance minister,[72] and Kimi Onoda as economic security minister.[70] In her inaugural press conference,Takaichi said that she "prioritised equality of opportunity" above all else,and had selected ministers based on their qualifications,not gender.[73][74]
The cabinet was viewed as favoring party unity,with Takaichi's rivals receiving key positions:Toshimitsu Motegi as foreign minister,Yoshimasa Hayashi as internal affairs minister and Shinjiro Koizumi as defense minister. Ishiba's confidant Ryosei Akazawa was promoted to minister of economy,trade and industry,showing a degree of continuity.[75][76] Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara,however,is ideologically aligned with Takaichi,a break from recent prime ministers.[77]
During the first press conference of her premiership on 21 October 2025,Takaichi outlined her key priorities such as tackling rising inflation and said that she would work to implement suspension of the provisional gasoline tax rate. Takaichi also announced her other plans such as the proposal for creating a back-up capital region,overhauling Japan's social security system,revising the constitution,and creating a majority government to bring stability,while listening to opposition parties regarding national policies and raising the national tax-free income threshold,which are also in line with her agreement with the Japan Innovation Party. Takaichi stated that crisis management is part of her core agendas in her premiership and laid out her plans to increase the collaboration of the public and private sectors in investing in economic,energy,and food security.[78]
According to local reports,Takaichi is currently planning a ¥13.9 trillion ($92.19 billion) economic stimulus package as part of her first economic initiative policies aimed for "responsible proactive fiscal policy",which has three main pillars;namely measures to counter inflation,investment in growth industries,and national security. Other proposals include the expansion of local government grants for small and medium businesses and additional investments in technology such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors.[79]
Prime Minister Takaichi speaks in front of reporters during her first press conference as prime minister at the Prime Minister's Residence on 21 October 2025
On 24 October 2025,during her first policy speech at the National Diet,Takaichi repeated her priorities in tackling inflation,fiscal spending,the creation of an economic growth panel,and her previous proposal on scrapping the provisional tax on gasoline.[80] Takaichi stated that she would bring forward Japan's plans to raise annual military spending to 2% of GDP,announcing a new target of March 2026,rather than the previous target of 2027,in an aim to modernize and upgrade the capabilities of the Japan Self-Defense Forces,while laying out a proposal to revise Japan's three national security documents due to the evolving threats in the region,such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine,the Gaza war,the Red Sea crisis,and increasing military actions by North Korea,Russia,and China. Takaichi mentioned the need to continue Japan's alliance with the United States,while enhancing Japan's diplomacy to the international community. [81]
Takaichi renewed her two predecessors' efforts to make Japan a leading asset management center and for their plan of setting up an agency for disaster prevention.[82] Takaichi emphasized the need for immigrant labour,saying that foreign workers are still needed to supplement Japan's declining population. She highlighted the need to balance labour market needs and the increasing immigrant population,noting that Japan's acceptance of migrants is premised on their compliance with Japan's rules and laws,and vowed to strengthen regulations to enforce compliance.[82]
In opinion polls conducted during late October–early November 2025,Takaichi's government received the approval of between 65% and 83% of respondents,among the highest such ratings of any government in twenty years.[83]
Takaichi made her diplomatic debut at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia,where she made efforts to strengthen cooperation on the maritime,artificial intelligence,and cybersecurity sectors. She also held bilateral meetings with Philippine president Bongbong Marcos,Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim,and Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese.[84][85][86][87] During the ASEAN meeting,Takaichi also attended the ASEAN+3 Summit,the ASEAN–Japan Summit,the 20th East Asia Summit,and the Second ASEAN Global Dialogue. Takaichi skipped the remaining events of the summit,flying back to Tokyo to meet with U.S. president Donald Trump the next day.[88]
Takaichi met with Trump on 28 October 2025 at the Akasaka Palace. The two leaders signed agreements on trade,minerals,nuclear technology and rare earths. Takaichi also expressed her intent to strengthen the US–Japan alliance. After their meeting,Takaichi gave Trump a putter formerly owned by former prime minister Shinzo Abe,a golf ball signed by Japanese professional golfer Hideki Matsuyama,and a gold-leaf golf ball.[89][90] During their visit at the US Yokosuka Naval Base,aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73),Takaichi vowed to bring the US–Japan alliance into a "golden age",amid a "severe security environment".[91][92][93] According to Trump’s press secretary,she also told Trump privately she would recommend him for the Nobel Peace Prize.[94]
Chinese President Xi Jinping an unusual move by not sending a congratulatory telegram on the day Takaichi assumed the post of prime minister,but a Japan-China summit meeting between Xi and Takaichi was realized on 31 October. There,the two sides agreed to promote a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests." [95] However,since Prime Minister Takaichi held talks with Taiwan's former Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i on 1 November,China lodged a protest with Japan,and Japan counter-argued,leading to the deterioration of the relationship.[96]
During deliberations in the House of Representatives' budget committee on 7 November,Takaichi said that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute a "a situation threatening Japan's survival",allowing Japan to take military action in self-defence.[97] In response,the Chinese consul-general in Osaka,Xue Jian,wrote on X on that this was "a path of death that only some stupid politicians in Japan would choose",[98] and that "we have no choice but to cut off that dirty neck that has lunged at us without a moment's hesitation. Are you ready?"[97][b] The posts were later deleted after protest from the Japanese side.[100] China also condemned Takaichi's remarks,summoned the Japanese ambassador to China,and advised Chinese citizens to avoid travelling to Japan.[101]
Takaichi has been described as holding hard-line conservative and Japanese nationalist views,[8][102][103][104] citing former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as a role model[8][105] and deeply influential on her personal political beliefs.[c] Like Thatcher,she is called the "Iron Lady".[d] Takaichi is a member of Nippon Kaigi,a far-right ultraconservative organisation[113][114] that argues for a reinterpretation of Japanese history amongst ultranationalist lines.[115]
Like her fellow candidates in the 2025 LDP leadership election,Takaichi has been described as taking a "hard-line stance" on immigration. The New York Times stated that during her leadership campaign "she seized on a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment".[127] Specifically she has been described as wanting "tighter restrictions on immigration"[128] and employed "anti-immigration rhetoric" during her campaign.[129]
During the campaign she called for a "crackdown" on illegal migration and emphasized that "foreigners must strictly obey" Japanese law stating that those who overstay their visa or abscond from justice should be treated as harshly as Japanese citizens. She proposed that policies be reconsidered from the ground up,with an aim to establish an "orderly coexistence" between Japanese citizens and immigrants based on "mutual consideration" in communities. In her campaign manifesto she also proposed establishing an agency to tackle issues such as visa overstays,overtourism,and land purchases by foreign nationals,particularly near defense facilities and strategic assets. On refugees she explicitly stated:"For those who come [to Japan] with financial motives and claim that they are refugees,I'll have you go home."[130][131]
Takaichi supports adoption of a "Comprehensive Economic Security Act" that would establish laws and organizations to prevent foreign students and engineers who come to Japan from nations like China from taking Japanese technology back to their home countries for military purposes.[132]
Economics
Takaichi is known for favouring proactive government spending. She supports heavy government investment in critical strategic sectors in what she refers to as "crisis management investment". These include:artificial intelligence,semiconductors,nuclear fusion,biotechnology,and defence.[133] She supports maintaining Shinzo Abe's policy of Abenomics.[134] During the 2025 LDP leadership election,she said she would consider paying for an economic stimulus plan by issuing bonds to service the national debt.[135]
During her 2021 run for LDP leader,she put forward a three-pronged "Plan to Strengthen the Japanese Economy",also known as "New Abenomics" or "Sanaenomics". The first prong is expansionary monetary policy,the second prong is "flexible fiscal spending in response to crises," and the third prong is "bold investment in crisis management and growth".[136] The plan places particular emphasis on "bold crisis management and growth investment",which will involve large-scale fiscal spending and the development of legal systems and new economic bonds.[137]
Takaichi has advocated for tax increases on corporations. She has considered raising taxes on cash deposits rather than retained earnings,and in September 2021 she estimated that "a 1% tax on corporate cash deposits would increase tax revenue by 2 trillion yen. Even if companies with capital of 100 million yen or less are excluded,tax revenue would increase by 1 trillion yen."[136]
Takaichi has supported shutting down media outlets that demonstrate repeated political bias.[140] Noting a discrepancy in the existing law,which criminalises causing damage to foreign,but not Japanese flags,she proposed and supported a bill to penalize damaging the Japanese flag with "imprisonment for two years or less,or a fine of up to 200,000 yen (about $1,930)".[141]
Takaichi,like all other candidates in the 2025 LDP leadership election,supports revising article nine of the Japanese constitution to include mention of the Japan Self-Defence Forces.[142] In 2021,she advocated revising the constitution to reposition the Self-Defense Forces as a "National Army",and increasing defense spending to promote the procurement of advanced equipment and research and development. She stated that in the event of war,"it is important to neutralize enemy bases first."[143] She has proposed the adoption of anti-espionage legislation,something also supported by the opposition parties such as the Democratic Party for the People.[131] She is also in favour of the creation of a national intelligence agency.[144]
Takaichi has been critical of Chinese economic practices such as intellectual property theft,and has voiced support for reducing economic dependence on China. She has argued for deployment of US medium-range missiles to Japan,[145] and the removal of marine buoys placed by China in waters both countries claim as part of the Senkaku Islands dispute.[146] In April 2025,she visited Taiwan and met with President Lai Ching-te. She has repeated Shinzo Abe's statement that a "Taiwan emergency is a Japan emergency."[147] During the 2021 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election,in which she placed third,her stance on China was the most hawkish of any candidate.[145]
Takaichi has made multiple visits to Yasukuni Shrine,which is viewed as controversial in China and Korea,primarily surrounding its enshrinement of Japanese Second World War-era Class A war criminals.[155][156][8] She made visits in April and August 2024,both times signing as minister of state.[155][156][8] She also visited in August 2025,on the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Japan.[157] In the 2021 LDP leadership race,she said she would continue to visit the shrine if elected prime minister,[145] but in the 2025 race avoided commenting on the question.[124]
In 2022,Takaichi made remarks about the Yasukuni Shrine issue that were controversial in South Korea.[158] She said,"When we act ambiguously,such as stopping our visits to Yasukuni Shrine midway,the other side climbs up",using the derogatory Japanese word tsukeagaru,which means "to take advantage of someone's politeness or kindness and act impudently". She went on to say that continuing to visit the shrine would eventually make "neighbouring countries...look foolish and stop complaining".[158]
Takaichi has said that war crimes committed by Japan in World War II have been exaggerated.[8] She takes a negative view of the Kono[159][160] and the Murayama statements,[161][162] which issued apologies for Japanese war crimes,including comfort women. In an appearance on a television program on 18 August 2002,Takaichi was asked,"Do you think Japan's war after the Manchurian Incident was a war of self-defence?" to which she replied,"I think it was a war for security."[163]
She argued against the inclusion by some school textbooks of China's death toll estimate for the Nanjing Massacre. She recounted her complaint to MEXT against textbooks that included criticism of the government's Act on National Flag and Anthem and of then–Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to Yasukuni Shrine. She said it was "clear" that Japan "intended to wage a war of self-defense".[165]
Personal life
Takaichi married a fellow member of the House of Representatives,Taku Yamamoto,in 2004.[166] They have no children together,but Takaichi adopted Yamamoto's three children from a previous marriage. They divorced in July 2017,with Takaichi citing differing political views and aspirations as the reason.[167][168] They remarried in December 2021. She has four grandchildren through her stepchildren.[169][170] After undergoing surgery for a gynecological disease,Takaichi found it difficult to conceive and give birth,and gave up on having children. In 2007,she said,"I want society to be welcoming to infertile women."[171]
During her first marriage,Takaichi assumed her husband's family name legally,but continued to use her maiden name in public life. Upon remarriage,Taku Yamamoto took the name Takaichi instead,fulfilling the legal requirement that married couples have the same family name.[2] Yamamoto suffered from a cerebral infarction in 2025,leaving the right side of his body paralysed. Takaichi serves as his caregiver.[172] Despite being members of opposing political parties,Takaichi is known to be friends with Yoshihiko Noda,leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan,the largest opposition party,since 2024. Noda was Takaichi's senior during their time at the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management.[173][174]
Takaichi's Toyota Supra A70,displayed in a museum in Nara
↑ "Fumio Kishida Is Japan's New Prime Minister. Here's How He Beat a Much More Popular Rival". Time. 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2025. Yoshikazu Kato, a director of a Tokyo-based research and consulting firm Trans-Pacific Group (TPG), believes Kishida's team was able to secure more votes with help from supporters of ultraconservative candidate Sanae Takaichi—who was vying to become Japan's first female prime minister.
↑ "高市大休氏が死去 高市早苗自民党政調会長の父". Nikkei Shimbun (in Japanese). 6 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
1 2 "高市早苗氏の意外な過去にフェミニストも震えた 総理の座を狙う過程で何があったのか おんなの話はありがたい"[Even feminists tremble at Sanae Takaichi's surprising past: what happened on the road to prime minister? It's nice to hear a woman's side of the story]. PRESIDENT Online (in Japanese). 16 September 2021. Archived from the original on 30 April 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
↑ Although the term "Youth Affairs" is used in its official English title, the original Japanese title shōshika (少子化) is more aptly translated as "diminishing birth rate issue".
↑ "高市早苗・自民党総裁、第104代首相に選出 憲政史上初の女性宰相"[LDP President Sanae Takaichi is 104th Prime Minister and the First Woman to Hold the Role since the Introduction of Constitutional Government]. BBC News (in Japanese). 21 October 2025. Archived from the original on 22 October 2025. Retrieved 22 October 2025.
↑ "Fumio Kishida Is Japan's New Prime Minister. Here's How He Beat a Much More Popular Rival". Time. 29 September 2021. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2025. Yoshikazu Kato, a director of a Tokyo-based research and consulting firm Trans-Pacific Group (TPG), believes Kishida's team was able to secure more votes with help from supporters of ultraconservative candidate Sanae Takaichi—who was vying to become Japan's first female prime minister.
↑ "Ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi set to become Japan's first female prime minister". PBS. 20 October 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025. The Buddhist-backed Komeito left after raising concerns about Takaichi's ultraconservative politics and the LDP's lax response to corruption scandals that led to the party's consecutive election defeats and loss of majority in both houses.
↑ "「夫の介護が辛い」高市早苗が総裁選前に漏らした介護の苦労"["It's difficult caring for my husband": Sanae Takaichi reveals struggle before LDP leadership election]. Gendai Business (in Japanese). 4 October 2025. Archived from the original on 5 October 2025. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
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