Japan elected its first female prime minister on Tuesday, a milestone in a country long dominated by male leadership, after Sanae Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) struck a last-minute coalition deal with the right-wing Japan Innovation Party.
Lawmakers in the lower house voted 237-149 to make Takaichi, 64, prime minister, ending weeks of uncertainty after the LDP lost its longtime coalition partner, Komeito, and suffered a string of bruising election defeats tied to a party funding scandal and mounting public frustration over living costs. The LDP’s pact with Osaka-based Ishin, formally signed by Takaichi and co-leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, gave her the votes she needed to prevail despite the new alliance still falling short of an outright majority in the lower chamber on paper.
“I’m very much looking forward to working with you on efforts to make Japan’s economy stronger and to reshape Japan as a country that can be responsible for future generations,” Takaichi told Ishin leaders at the signing ceremony, according to officials present.
Japan’s first female Prime Minister embraces conservative policies, such as a tougher stance on China
Takaichi’s rise caps an improbable political ascent from local television commentator and back-bench lawmaker to the top job. As a protégé of the late Shinzo Abe, she embraces many of his conservative priorities, a tougher stance on China, expanding the role of the Self-Defense Forces, and revising Japan’s postwar pacifist constitution, positions that helped prompt Komeito to sever the 26-year governing partnership when it said the LDP had not adequately addressed the funding scandal and that Takaichi’s hawkish views were unacceptable.
Her premiership is likely to push Japan’s politics to the right. Takaichi opposes same-sex marriage, has argued against allowing reigning female emperors, and has called for stricter immigration rules. Such stances have raised concerns in Tokyo’s neighbors and among domestic critics. She is also known for visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a gesture that has been a recurring source of tension with China and South Korea, as the shrine honors Japan’s wartime casualties, including leaders judged responsible for wartime atrocities.
Congratulations to @takaichi_sanae on making history today as Japan’s first female prime minister. Under the strong and decisive leadership of @POTUS and Prime Minister @takaichi_sanae, the 🇺🇸🇯🇵 partnership will reach new heights of cooperation in everything from security and… pic.twitter.com/99w5wPN2G2
— ジョージ・グラス駐日米国大使 (@USAmbJapan) October 21, 2025
In her first news conference as prime minister Tuesday night, Takaichi emphasized economic priorities, saying she would “work boldly and tirelessly, unafraid of change” to strengthen the economy and protect national interests. The new administration has signaled plans for both higher spending and tax cuts to ease the squeeze of rising prices, a mix that could put her at odds with Ishin, which favors smaller government and fiscal restraint.
Takaichi inherits a parliament in which her bloc lacks a secure majority
The LDP’s sudden realignment exposed the fragility of Japan’s once-dominant political order. Komeito, the Buddhist-backed party that had been the coalition partner for decades, walked away after Takaichi won the LDP leadership earlier this month following the resignation of Shigeru Ishiba. That departure set off brief maneuvering among opposition parties to forge an alternative candidate, but those efforts failed to coalesce.
Despite the coalition breakthrough, Takaichi inherits a parliament in which her bloc lacks a secure majority in both houses and will need to court other factions to pass legislation and a looming supplementary budget. Analysts warn that the minority nature of her alliance and lingering public discontent could make her tenure unstable and short-lived.
Sanae Takaichi becomes Japan’s first female prime minister, marking a significant rightward shift in the country’s politics https://t.co/LKfJ3MNzDv pic.twitter.com/OxCAXqF6dE
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 21, 2025
Takaichi’s domestic debut as Japan’s first female prime minister comes as the country prepares for a high-profile foreign visit and regional summits. She is expected to receive a visit from U.S. President Donald Trump this week and to make her international debut at an APEC meeting in South Korea.
Takaichi’s Cabinet is set to feature Japan’s first female finance minister
Her new Cabinet, which Takaichi said would include a female finance minister for the first time in Japan’s history, blends long-time conservatives and allies who backed her leadership bid. Satsuki Katayama, who served in Abe’s government, was named finance minister on Tuesday.
Takaichi’s personal story has been prominent in coverage of her rise. Born and raised in Nara Prefecture, she did not come from a political dynasty, a rarity among Japan’s ruling class. She has cultivated an image as a tough, pugnacious politician, a former television commentator, and self-described heavy-metal drummer who has said she admires Britain’s former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.
Still, the new leader faces immediate and deep challenges such as tamping down inflation and living costs, restoring public trust after the funding scandal that cost the LDP a parliamentary majority, managing a demographic crisis of a shrinking workforce and aging population, and navigating fraught relations with neighboring countries that do not approve of her nationalist rhetoric.
