Sanae Takaichi likes Margaret Thatcher, but not same-sex marriage.
Sanae Takaichi is the woman of cool-girl trope dreams. She rides motorcycles, has a black belt in karate, and was part of a heavy metal rock band, where she often broke her drumsticks during concerts. Way less cool is Takaichi’s hardline views on traditional gender roles and her opposition to same-sex marriage, and even less cool is that she’s now Japan’s first female prime minister. One small step for women, one giant fallback for womenkind.
Earlier in October, Takaichi was elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, the country’s largest political party that, for seven decades, governed post-war Japan as a center-right party. Formed in 1955, it’s long been defined by its economic hawkishness and pro-American policies, and is credited for helping the country reach its economic superpower status in the latter half of the 20th century. But recently, the party’s been struggling with election losses, scandals, and a leadership vacuum after its former leader (and Takaichi’s fellow war crimes revisionist) Shinzo Abe was assassinated in 2022. So to regain power for her party, Takaichi partnered in a deal with a further-right party called Ishin, thus positioning herself for the PM position and pushing the LDP deeper into conservatism.
