JJapan

Sanae Takaichi elected as Japan’s first female prime minister

  • October 21, 2025

Hello r/japan. Dave here from the audience engagement team at Nikkei Asia. 

I’m sharing another free portion of the article above for anyone interested.

The excerpt starts below.

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TOKYO — Sanae Takaichi, the leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was elected the country's 104th prime minister on Tuesday by lawmakers in parliament, becoming the country's first female to hold the office.

Takaichi secured a majority of votes in the lower house of the Diet after it convened for an extraordinary session. Outgoing Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his cabinet resigned en masse in the morning, paving the way for the election.

Takaichi will form her cabinet later in the day, and formally succeed Ishiba upon her appointment by the emperor at the imperial palace.

The historic election came a day after the LDP agreed to a new ruling coalition with the center-right Japan Innovation Party on Monday. Under the new alliance, the two parties will "aim to revive Japan" by creating a "self-sustaining nation" in the region, their agreement stated.

The 64-year old conservative politician, who admires former U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, becomes the first Japanese female leader of the country in its 140 years of cabinet government. She was close to late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and her policies call for proactive fiscal spending. Automotive and other industries in Japan are hopeful regarding her economic policies.

by NikkeiAsia

9 comments

  1. More on this subject from other reputable sources:

    —
    – BBC Online (A): [Sanae Takaichi wins historic vote to become Japan's first female prime minister](https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cy0ypj0nrgkt)
    – Japan Times (A-): [LDP and JIP agree on coalition, clearing path for Takaichi to become PM](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/10/20/japan/politics/ldp-nippon-ishin-coalition-agree/)
    – DW-TV (B+): [Japan coalition to back Takaichi as first woman PM — reports](https://www.dw.com/en/japan-coalition-to-back-takaichi-as-first-woman-pm-reports/a-74413621)
    – ABC News (B+): [Japan’s parliament is set to elect nation’s first female prime minister](https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/japans-parliament-set-elect-sanae-takaichi-nations-female-126705013)

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  8. If this doesn’t help Japan to climb up next year’s Global Gender Gap Report (2025: currently ranking 118th out of 148), I don’t know what will. /s

    [https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/12/japan/society/wef-gender-equality-report/](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/12/japan/society/wef-gender-equality-report/)

    If Takaichi Premiership ends up as short-lived as I would expect it to be, Japan is more likely to slide down the report by a few notches…

  9. Since Sanae Takaichi became prime minister, the LDP’s approval rating has risen.

    I don’t think she’ll be removed from her chair and Koizumi Shinjiro will become prime minister. When she steps down, we’ll probably see the LDP fall into the opposition.

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