\n Days after winning the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership, a victory that would normally all but guarantee the premiership, Takaichi was dealt an unexpected setback. The LDP\u2019s longtime coalition partner, Komeito, announced it would not join a government under her, citing lingering mistrust over an LDP political slush fund scandal. The split leaves Takaichi scrambling to secure enough parliamentary support to form a stable administration.\n <\/p>\n
\n And even if she does become Japan\u2019s first woman prime minister, she will inherit a daunting list of challenges.\n <\/p>\n
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\n Takaichi has long championed conservative policies, rooted in nationalist and traditionalist ideals. Her win, a surprising triumph in Japan\u2019s deeply patriarchal political system, signals to disillusioned LDP voters that traditional conservatism is alive and well.\n <\/p>\n
\n A prominent member of the ultranationalist lobby group Nippon Kaigi, she promotes a patriotic education. She\u2019s also supported revising Japan\u2019s pacifist constitution, particularly Article 9, which renounces war and bans military forces.\n <\/p>\n
\n Unlike many of her male peers, Takaichi doesn\u2019t come from a political dynasty. She was born in Nara prefecture to a father who worked for a car company and a mother who was a police officer.\n <\/p>\n
\n Before entering politics, she interned for a US Democratic congresswoman and worked as a TV commentator, \u201cwearing miniskirts, riding motorcycles and presenting herself in a lively, unconventional way that sharply contrasted with the typical older male commentators,\u201d Hajime Kidera, a professor at Meiji University\u2019s School of Political Science and Economics, told CNN.\n <\/p>\n
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\n But Takaichi gave up her beloved Kawasaki Z400GP motorcycle after becoming a lawmaker in 1993 at age 32, reportedly to avoid accidents that could hinder her work.\n <\/p>\n
\n Her first stint in politics was as an independent lawmaker in Japan\u2019s parliament. Around that time, she met the hairdresser who\u2019d style her hair for the next three decades. From the start, Yukitoshi Arai told CNN, Takaichi aspired to be like Margaret Thatcher.\n <\/p>\n
\n When Arai learned Takaichi had won the LDP leadership, he said, \u201cI was so happy it gave me goosebumps.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n He fondly recalled how, after early political struggles, Takaichi joined the LDP in 1996. \u201cWe decided to express her renewed determination with her hair and cut it short,\u201d he said. Thus was born the iconic \u201cSanae cut\u201d \u2013 sleek, sharp and practical for a busy politician.\n <\/p>\n
\n Since joining the LDP, Takaichi has been re-elected nine times. She\u2019s held multiple cabinet posts, including on gender equality and demographic issues, and chaired the party\u2019s Policy Research Council. Most recently, she served as minister of economic security under the administration of Fumio Kishida.\n <\/p>\n
\n Takaichi married in 2004. In a recent interview, she said she agreed to marry her husband, a fellow LDP lawmaker, without ever going on a date.\n <\/p>\n
\n He proposed over the phone, saying he\u2019d had his eyes on her \u201cfor some time.\u201d His audacity and her rashness might surprise some. But her husband was a catch, she said \u2013 he\u2019s a trained chef.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe told me, \u2018You\u2019ll never go a day without eating good food.\u2019 So, I just took the plunge,\u201d she laughed, admitting she\u2019s not much of a cook herself.\n <\/p>\n
\n Japan\u2019s economic and demographic woes pose immediate challenges for Takaichi, should she become Japan\u2019s next prime minister.\n <\/p>\n
\n The country\u2019s declining birthrate means a shrinking workforce saddled with supporting a swelling elderly population. Record high inflation and a weak yen are also squeezing households and driving up living costs.\n <\/p>\n
\n Soon after her election, the yen hit a new low amid expectations of major fiscal stimulus. Takaichi has floated large-scale spending and low inflation under her own banner, \u201cSanaenomics,\u201d echoing her mentor Shinzo Abe\u2019s \u201cAbenomics.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThat kind of talk can weaken the yen further and raise concerns about Japan\u2019s debt levels. For ordinary people already struggling with rising prices, it\u2019s also a serious worry,\u201d Kidera, the politics professor from Meiji University, said.\n <\/p>\n
\n Trade relations with Washington could prove tricky, particularly over a $550 billion Japan-to-US investment deal<\/a> announced in September, which Takaichi has previously said she could revisit.\n <\/p>\n \n As it stands, Japan\u2019s investment in the US targets sectors like semiconductors, energy, pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding, while also purchasing $8 billion annually in US agricultural products. In return, the US has reduced tariffs on Japanese goods, including cars, to a baseline of 15%.\n <\/p>\n \n With few details about the $550 billion investment deal available, and given President Donald Trump\u2019s mercurial nature, Takaichi appears to be waiting to see how it unfolds, said Rintaro Nishimura, a Tokyo-based senior associate at The Asia Group, a consulting firm.\n <\/p>\n \n Her first test with Washington could come quickly. If Takaichi can form a coalition and Trump\u2019s schedule allows time around the ASEAN summit, they could meet at the end of October \u2013 potentially just days into her premiership.\n <\/p>\n \n But despite her short runway, comparisons between the two conservative leaders are already being drawn. As a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Abe, who enjoyed a close rapport with Trump, Takaichi is expected to follow her mentor\u2019s diplomatic playbook. Like Abe, Takaichi has called for sharp increases in Japan\u2019s defense budget, a move likely to be welcomed by the Trump administration, which has urged Tokyo to approach NATO\u2019s 5% benchmark.\n <\/p>\n \n Geopolitics will further test her leadership. Known as a China hawk, Takaichi has previously suggested that Chinese residents in Japan have a \u201cduty to aid Chinese espionage.\u201d She\u2019s also argued that Japanese war crimes have been exaggerated, and makes regular visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, where Japan\u2019s war dead, including convicted war criminals, are enshrined. Several of her cabinet picks have close ties to Taiwan, risking friction with Beijing, Japan\u2019s top trading partner.\n <\/p>\n \n Yet analysts expect her stance on visits to the Yasukuni shrine will soften in office. \u201cIn reality, Takaichi will likely follow a logic of practical diplomacy. She\u2019ll have to tone down the anti-China rhetoric she\u2019s shown in the past,\u201d political analyst Nishimura told CNN.\n <\/p>\n \n Signs of moderation have already appeared. Takaichi said she won\u2019t visit Yasukuni during its autumn festival, likely to reassure uneasy coalition partners.\n <\/p>\n![\"Sanae](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/ap25277214441123.jpg\")
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