{"id":241676,"date":"2025-10-21T19:02:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/241676\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T19:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:02:09","slug":"japans-new-prime-minister-sanae-takaichi-is-a-metal-fan-drummer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/241676\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan’s New Prime Minister SANAE TAKAICHI Is A Metal Fan & Drummer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japan has just elected its first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, who is also a metal fan and occasional drummer. CNN<\/a> reports in a profile of Takaichi that she’s a fan of classic hard rock and heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple \u2013 and yeah, she still drums too: “I play after [my husband] goes to sleep,” she said.<\/p>\n

In a 2021 interview with Friday News<\/a>, Takaichi spoke a little more about her love of music and motorcycles: “When I was in high school, I was often late and used a motorcycle to get to school. I wore a jersey under my skirt, straddled the bike, parked it behind the school, and climbed over the wire fence to get to school every morning. I know it’s against school rules, so I know it’s not allowed.<\/p>\n

“In college, I spent my days immersed in music. I was a heavy metal fan and played in four bands as a drummer. When I was in my second or third year, I even played in a professional backing band. In my second or third year, I was in a professional backing band, playing drums behind Mariko Kobayashi, the Janice of Naniwa. It was a lot of fun.”<\/p>\n

She’s also got a pretty decent voice, as you’ll see thanks to her cover of X Japan’s 1994 single “Rusty Nail” below. <\/p>\n

Fuji TV’s headline introducing Takaichi Sanae as the first female leader of the LDP notes that she is a Hanshin Tigers fan and also mentions the time she sang an X Japan song on a TV show (shown in this video).pic.twitter.com\/85y5M2kkHw<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/Hq0nfqcYhj<\/a>\u2014 Jeffrey J. Hall ???????????????? (@mrjeffu) October 4, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\t\tWant More Metal? Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter<\/p>\n

Enter your information below to get a daily update with all of our headlines and receive The Orchard Metal newsletter.<\/p>\n