THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
October 22, 2025 at 18:29 JST
Sanae Takaichi acknowledges the applause after being elected prime minister on Oct. 21. (Nobuo Fujiwara)
Although Sanae Takaichi has received accolades for becoming Japan’s first female prime minister, some women say the actions of the nation’s new leader from now will determine her place in history.
Shin Ki-young, a professor of politics and gender at Tokyo’s Ochanomizu University, said there was major significance in having the Liberal Democratic Party and the political sector accept a woman to head the country.
But Shin added, “I feel she does not place high priority on gender equality and diversity.”
The professor noted that Takaichi has not supported the introduction of a system allowing married couples to choose separate surnames.
Shin added that she hopes Takaichi will implement policy that includes those who may hold different views from her.
Creative director Asako Tsuji, 29, said Takaichi becoming prime minister was a historic moment she had long waited for, but added that she felt Takaichi could only reach the top because senior male lawmakers helped put her there.
Tsuji pointed out that while the top leader might be a woman, the overall dominance of men in the political world has not changed.
She expressed hope that the LDP and opposition parties would make the effort “to allow young women to become leaders in local assemblies.”
Hisa Anan, 75, who was commissioner of the Consumer Affairs Agency in 2012, noted that women had always played a major role in consumer groups.
However, she added that when she became the CAA head, only about 30 percent of the bureaucrats in the agency were women.
As commissioner, Anan tried to persuade her subordinates to reduce their overtime work because it was important to keep in mind the thinking of general consumers and their lives at home.
Based on what Takaichi has said in the past and her LDP executive picks, Anan expressed concerns about whether the new prime minister would implement policy that helped women.
“The movement seeking equality for women is a global one,” Anan said. “I hope she responds to the expectations held by women and the general public about the first female prime minister.”
(This article was written by Kazuki Uechi, Midori Iki and Akari Sugiyama.)
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