Japan poised to get first woman prime minister
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi
What happened
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party elected former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, a hard-line conservative, as its new leader, putting her on track to become the country’s first woman prime minister later this month. Takaichi, an acolyte of the late former leader Shinzo Abe and admirer of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, beat out four male rivals in the second round of voting in Saturday’s leadership election.
Who said what
Takaichi’s rise “reflects an eagerness for change” in the LDP after a series of losses put her party in the “unusual position of being a minority in both houses of parliament,” The New York Times said. But while she is on the cusp of breaking a major gender barrier, her “own views on women’s rights are complicated.” Takaichi “opposes same-sex marriage and allowing married couples to have separate surnames, an issue that has broad public support in Japan,” Reuters said. But as a “drummer and a fan of heavy metal,” she is “no stranger to creating noise.”
Takaichi “will have to contend with a sluggish economy,” inflation and slow wage growth, the BBC said, and “navigate a challenging U.S.-Japan relationship,” starting with a potential summit with President Donald Trump later this month. But first she “faces an immediate hurdle,” the Times said: She must win enough votes in parliament to become prime minister.
What next?
The LDP needs to add another party to its minority government, The Associated Press said, but Takaichi’s “ultra-conservative politics,” especially her hawkish “revisionism of wartime history and regular visits” to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, have put her “on the verge of losing her party’s long-time coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed dovish centrist Komeito.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for January 18Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include cost of living, endless supply of greed, and more
-
Exploring ancient forests on three continentsThe Week Recommends Reconnecting with historic nature across the world
-
How oil tankers have been weaponisedThe Explainer The seizure of a Russian tanker in the Atlantic last week has drawn attention to the country’s clandestine shipping network
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
-
Australia weighs new gun laws after antisemitic attackSpeed Read A father and son opened fire on Jewish families at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, killing at least 15
-
Japan’s Princess Aiko is a national star. Her fans want even more.IN THE SPOTLIGHT Fresh off her first solo state visit to Laos, Princess Aiko has become the face of a Japanese royal family facing 21st-century obsolescence
-
Benin thwarts coup attemptSpeed Read President Patrice Talon condemned an attempted coup that was foiled by the West African country’s army
