Sanae Takaichi, a 64-year-old ultra-conservative lawmaker, is poised to make historical past as Japan’s first feminine prime minister after being chosen to steer the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Get together (LDP).
In a rustic that constantly ranks low on world gender equality indices, her rise to energy would possibly appear to be a progressive milestone. But, many ladies’s rights advocates in Japan will not be celebrating. Their unease stems from Takaichi’s deeply conservative views, which align extra carefully with conventional male-dominated beliefs than with trendy feminist aspirations.
Takaichi has pledged to extend feminine participation in authorities, however her file tells a extra advanced story. She has opposed reforms supporting ladies’s empowerment, together with insurance policies that may permit married {couples} to maintain separate surnames, in addition to same-sex marriage and adjustments to the male-only imperial succession rule. Her long-held perception that girls ought to primarily function good moms and wives has drawn criticism from equality advocates.
Based on media stories, feminine lawmakers within the LDP are sometimes sidelined, holding solely minor cupboard positions and dealing with resistance when selling gender range. At present, ladies account for almost 15% of Japan’s extra highly effective decrease home, and solely two of the nation’s 47 prefectural governors are ladies.
Takaichi’s Political Journey
Takaichi’s sturdy ties to the celebration’s male heavyweights have additionally raised considerations that her management could reinforce, fairly than reform, Japan’s patriarchal political tradition.
Regardless of these criticisms, Takaichi has proven some empathy towards ladies’s well being points, publicly discussing her expertise with menopause and urging higher schooling for males to help ladies in colleges and workplaces.
First elected to parliament from her hometown of Nara in 1993, she has since held key posts together with minister of financial safety, inside affairs, and gender equality. A self-proclaimed admirer of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi additionally shares the conservative imaginative and prescient of late Japanese chief Shinzo Abe, whom she has typically described as her political mentor.
Nationalism, Safety And A Conservative Imaginative and prescient for Japan
Identified for her unconventional previous as a heavy-metal drummer and motorcycle fanatic, Takaichi is a nationalist who advocates for a stronger army, elevated fiscal spending, nuclear power enlargement, and stricter immigration controls. She can be a frequent customer to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a web site that honors Japan’s warfare useless and stays a supply of pressure with neighboring China and South Korea.
As she prepares to take the helm, Takaichi has but to stipulate her particular agenda as prime minister. Analysts counsel her management might deliver continuity to Japan’s conservative politics whereas testing the steadiness throughout the ruling coalition, significantly with the extra average Komeito celebration.