By Chikafumi Hodo
TOKYO (MaceNews) – Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Sanae Takaichi was sworn in as the country’s first woman prime minister on Tuesday, shifting the gear to the right on the political spectrum and inheriting the decades-old task to achieve economic growth that comes with sustained wage hikes and stable inflation.
Takaichi, a conservative lawmaker with right-wing ideas on Japan’s wartime past and the rights for women and social minorities, quickly put together her Cabinet after scoring majority votes in the powerful House of Representatives earlier in the day, thanks to the last-minute support the LDP had secured from a populist opposition party. There are only two women in her cabinet (other than Takaichi), unchanged from the previous administration.
The new leader’s economic policy is not yet all clear but she seems to be relying on a ghost from the past: a reflationary policy mix used by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to bring the LDP back to power in a landslide general election win in late 2012 that also led to a decade of large-scale monetary easing that failed to turn the stubborn deflationary mindset.
This time, though, government and Bank of Japan policymakers are tackling guiding the 3% annual inflation rate toward the bank’s 2% price stability target in the long run. The ruling and opposition camps will be debating the economic, social and diplomatic policy agenda to be disclosed by Takaichi in the current 58-day extraordinary Diet session that ends on Dec. 17.
Takaichi, 64, replaced Shigeru Ishiba, 68, who announced last month that he was stepping down to take the blame for leading the ruling coalition to crushing defeats in general elections, first in the all-important lower house in October 2024 and then in the upper house in July. Ishiba is an old-school conservative type but with a slightly more liberal and open-minded twist.
Prime Minister Takaichi retained some key cabinet members while bringing in her contenders in the LDP leadership race that took place this month. Injecting new blood, Takaichi named former Finance Ministry bureaucrat Satsuki Katayama as her finance minister, the first woman to hold the post.
The new LDP leader, who has overcome the departure of Komeito, the party’s long-time coalition partner until days before the Diet vote, secured a decisive victory in the first round of voting in the lower house. She won 237 votes, a clear majority of the chamber’s 465 seats, and avoiding the need for a runoff.
Her victory was effectively guaranteed after the LDP struck a coalition agreement with the opposition Japan Innovation Party (Nippon Ishin) on Monday, ensuring sufficient support to overcome a united opposition.
Takaichi and Nippon Ishin’s co-leader Hirofumi Yoshimura agreed on a broad policy platform covering economic measures, national security, and energy. The parties plan to consider legislation that would temporarily cut the consumption tax on food to zero for two years and they confirmed that a bill to abolish the temporary gasoline tax surcharge will be enacted during the extraordinary parliamentary session.
Takaichi faces a challenging road ahead as she seeks to advance key policies and pass the national budget, with the LDP still lacking a majority in both chambers. The new partnership with Nippon Ishin is seen as more limited than the previous long-time coalition with Komeito, as the Innovation Party refrained from taking cabinet posts in the new administration.
Policy Speech, Trump’s Visit
A close ally of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is expected to pursue policies similar to his agenda, including a stronger defense posture, economic revitalization through fiscal expansion, and a push to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution. She has also voiced support for male-only imperial succession and opposition to same-sex marriage and separate surnames for married couples.
Takaichi’s early days in office will be packed with political and diplomatic activity, including a major policy speech in parliament later this week, U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit next week, and regional summits in Asia.
Japanese stocks have been buoyant since Takaichi was elected leader of the ruling party earlier this month, amid expectations that her premiership will pave the way for more proactive fiscal spending. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index has continued to climb, though it has so far failed to break through the psychologically important 50,000 mark. Still, the index closed at a record high of 49,316.06 on Tuesday.
First Woman Finance Minister
Katayama, 66, is a former regional revitalization minister and Finance Ministry bureaucrat and replaces Katsunobu Kato, 69. Katayama was among the 20 lawmakers who endorsed Takaichi’s bid in the LDP leadership election earlier this month.
Katayama told reporters on Tuesday that she would steer fiscal and economic policy “based on the principle of responsible and proactive fiscal management,” stressing that “strengthening the Japanese economy through a growth strategy is the top priority,” according to news reports.
She added that she would review special tax measures benefiting certain companies and work to improve the efficiency of large government subsidies.
Katayama was careful about commenting on currency and monetary policies. On foreign exchange, she said it was desirable for the yen to “move stably in line with fundamentals,” but declined to comment on its current level, saying, “It’s not the right time to make a statement.” She also refrained from commenting on the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy, adding, “I have no particular comment at this point.”