Sanae Takaichi has made a big impression since becoming Japan’s first female prime minister last fall: charming President Donald Trump, starting a diplomatic spat with China and playing the drums to K-pop songs with the president of South Korea.
Now, the ultraconservative Takaichi, 64, who took office in October after being elected leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, is betting big on a high-stakes snap election, fueled by the power of her personality and some unlikely help from young voters consumed by “Sanamania.”
Polls are predicting a landslide in the rare midwinter election on Sunday, which would give Takaichi direct public backing as she seeks to increase Japan’s defense capabilities and boost its influence on the world stage.
Takaichi’s ambitious agenda reflects a growing sense of urgency in Japan, which faces security threats from China and North Korea even as the U.S., its most important ally, shifts attention to the Western Hemisphere and avoids antagonizing China ahead of reciprocal visits by Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Takaichi is interested in “nurturing a very strong U.S. alliance, but also building Japan’s own defense capabilities as a hedge against the perception that America is no longer a reliable ally,” said Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian studies and history at Temple University’s Japan campus.
Among world leaders, Takaichi appears to have one of the most positive relationships with Trump, hitting it off with the U.S. president when he visited Japan days after she took office in October.
Trump endorsed Takaichi in a Truth Social post on Thursday, calling her “a strong, powerful, and wise” leader.
“In my visit to Japan I, and all of my Representatives, were extremely impressed with her,” Trump said, adding that he and Takaichi would meet at the White House on March 19.
U.S. presidents do not typically endorse candidates in other countries’ elections, but Trump has done so on multiple occasions.
Relations with China have been less positive, after Takaichi told lawmakers in November that a Chinese attack on the Beijing-claimed island of Taiwan could prompt a Japanese military response. Nationalists cheered Takaichi for the remark, which went much further than sitting Japanese leaders have previously, while others criticized it as reckless.
China, one of Japan’s biggest trading partners, responded by reimposing a ban on Japanese seafood imports, implementing restrictions on rare earth mineral exports, and warning Chinese nationals against traveling to Japan.
The economic pressure has not had the immediate effect Beijing was hoping for, Kingston said, with Takaichi refusing to retract her comments.
“She crossed their red line, and that has really redounded to her advantage,” he said. “Japanese people don’t want war with China, but I think they admire her for standing up to the regional bully.”
Snap election is a gamble
The election is a risk for Takaichi, who has said she’ll step down if her ruling coalition loses its majority. But opinion polls suggest that the LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, could win more than 300 of the 465 seats in the House of Representatives, the lower and more powerful house in Japan’s legislature.
The LDP could even win a majority on its own, which would further empower Takaichi to pursue her economic and defense goals.
Her popularity comes even as much of the public remains skeptical of her party, which has been dogged by scandals and suffered two embarrassing election losses in the last two years.
For many voters, Takaichi — a motorbike enthusiast and heavy metal drummer — is a refreshing change of pace in Japan’s male-dominated politics, despite having traditionalist views that are not always seen as advancing women, and the appointment of just two women in her cabinet.
“Undoubtedly, Takaichi brings a new air as the first Japanese female prime minister in history,” said Yuichi Hosoya, a professor of international politics at Keio University in Tokyo. “So that radically changed the atmosphere in the Japanese political space.”
Much of the craze for Takaichi has been based less on her policies than on her style, with her pledge to “work, work, work, work and work” being named catchphrase of the year. Items associated with her have gone viral, from the pink ballpoint pen she uses to take notes in parliament to her $900 black leather handbag, now sold out months in advance.
Her social media savvy has also gained her more than 2.6 million followers on X, almost five times that of her predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.
Takaichi’s support is especially high among young people — more than 80%, according to some polls — though it is unclear how many will brave freezing temperatures on Sunday to actually vote in a country where youth turnout is generally low.
And with expectations for her so high, Takaichi may find it challenging to meet them as her policies are put to the test, said Hiromi Murakami, an adjunct associate professor of international affairs and political science at Temple University.
“She says very aggressive things, but we haven’t really seen anything that she has accomplished yet,” Murakami said.
Markets have been roiled by concerns that Takaichi could deepen the national debt with her plans for the government to spend its way out of economic stagnation, and a cost-of-living crisis is being made worse by a weakening yen.
Japan, which pledged to invest $550 billion in the U.S. in exchange for a 15% tariff rate, could also face further trade hostility from Trump, who recently threatened higher tariffs on U.S. ally South Korea if it didn’t move faster with its own promised investment.
And China may keep up the pressure over Taiwan, said Murakami, who added there was concern that Takaichi “might not change her stance, which means prolonging some of the damage to the Japanese economy.”
Takaichi also lacks “reliable advisers,” Hosoya said, preferring to follow her own instincts.
“By winning the election, she will become much more confident,” he said. “That will be, I think, her biggest weakness in future.”
