Who is Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s ‘Iron Lady’ and first female prime minister?

EXPLAINER

After winning a leadership vote in the legislature, Sanae Takaichi will take office as Japan’s first female prime minister.

Following her victory, she was scheduled to meet with Emperor Naruhito on Tuesday, cementing her position in history.

What details about Japan’s upcoming leader are essential to know:

What is the history of Takaichi? &nbsp, &nbsp,

In the 1990s, Takaichi, 64, joined the long-serving Liberal Democratic Party in politics.

According to her official biography, she was born in central Japan’s Nara prefecture and received her degree from Kobe University.

Her family background was a little less than that of other LDP senior members, many of whom had degrees from prestigious institutions like the University of Tokyo and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Takaichi is best remembered as Shinzo Abe’s protégé. She was a member of both his cabinet and that of former prime minister Fumio Kishida.

What are Takaichi’s political views? &nbsp, &nbsp,

Takaichi, a fan of Margaret Thatcher’s death, has been referred to in media circles as “Iron Lady” of Japan due to her similarly conservative bent.

In the most recent leadership race, Takaichi pushed for economic policies that were similar to those used by her mentor, “Abenomics,” a combination of structural reform, monetary policy, and fiscal expansion.

She opposes same-sex unions, opposes immigration, and thinks the imperial succession should still prioritize men.

She is also known as a “China hawk,” a proponent of a more militarized and stable Taiwan Strait. Much to China’s chagrin, she has also traveled to meet with the LDP and has also made several appearances there.

Past visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial to the Japanese who died in the war, have also been controversial. Due to the shrine’s inclusion of World War II war criminals, it is a contentious issue both in Japan and abroad.

What does Takaichi’s win mean for Japan?

Takaichi’s victory means that Japan will continue down a path of conservative governance with a more right-wing shift, according to experts.

Conservative politics in Japan, however, are somewhat different from the West, says Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics and international studies at Japan’s International Christian University.

While Takaichi wants to strengthen Japan’s defence force and curb immigration, one thing she will not be changing is Japan’s social welfare system.

“Conservative in Japan means strong on security, it means strong on China, it means strong US-Japan relations. It means protecting the emperor system”, he told Al Jazeera ahead of the vote. “It usually]also] means an interventionist government that provides quite a bit of social welfare programmes.

” We’ll see Takaichi lead a new conservative LDP party – but conservative in the Japanese-defined sense of conservative, “he added.

What’s next for Takaichi?

Takaichi’s road to victory was not straightforward, and she still faces many uncertainties.

She will become Japan’s fourth prime minister in five years and takes the helm from a relatively weak position.

While the LDP has been the dominant political force in post-war Japan, the party has lost its majority in both houses of the legislature over the past two years. Its long-term coalition with the far-right Sanseito party also collapsed shortly after Takaichi was elected leader of the LDP in October, due to disagreements about campaign donations and anticorruption measures.

The LDP was able to form a new alliance with the Japan Innovation Party, another conservative party, securing enough seats in the legislature for Takaichi’s win this week.

But as PM, Takaichi will need to address challenges ranging from Japan’s cost of living crisis to the effects of US President Donald Trump’s trade war, and the country’s long-term security concerns about China and North Korea. The LDP is also still recovering from a major corruption scandal.