Takaichi becomes the year’s defining political drama

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Takaichi becomes the year’s defining political drama

Published: 27 Nov. 2025, 00:03

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Cha Se-hyeon

The author is an editorial writer at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s first month in office has played out like a political drama. On Oct. 21, she became Japan’s first female prime minister in the 140 years since the country adopted a cabinet system in 1885. The pace, tone and conflicts of her early administration have been compelling enough to rival a season of “The Crown” (2016-23), the Netflix series whose storylines have often featured Margaret Thatcher, a political figure Takaichi has long admired.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of their meeting in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, on Oct. 31. [AP/YONHAP]

Takaichi has carried the nickname “female Abe” throughout her political career, yet her behavior since taking office differs notably from the measured style of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Takaichi, who says she sleeps fewer than four hours a night, has approached her schedule as if she were living two days at once. Her background as a television anchor has also shaped the presentation of her administration, which often feels choreographed with a sense of narrative continuity and public framing.

The political drama began as soon as her government was formed. As the leader of a minority party that entered a coalition with the Japan Innovation Party, Takaichi needed to distribute power strategically. She appointed her former rivals from the ruling party’s leadership race to key positions, including defense minister, internal affairs minister and foreign minister. The move strengthened her internal base while projecting unity. Public expectations for Japan’s first female prime minister helped lift her support rate to 66 percent in an NHK poll, the third highest for a new administration after those of Junichiro Koizumi and Yukio Hatoyama .

Japanese Director-General of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau Masaaki Kanai, left, and Chinese Director-General of the Department of Asian Affairs Liu Jinsong, center, depart after a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Beijing on Nov. 18. [AFP/YONHAP]

Maintaining high approval is essential to any Japanese prime minister. Takaichi has responded by moving quickly on policies that enjoy broad public support. She pushed forward an extra budget worth roughly 17 trillion Japanese yen ($108.9 billion) to stimulate the economy and advanced her plan for tax cuts. She also proposed reducing the number of Diet seats by 10 percent as part of a political reform initiative. In addition, she declared that ministers, vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries would no longer receive the supplemental pay that had traditionally been provided on top of their salary. Opposition leaders urged caution, arguing that political grandstanding over pay cuts could undermine efforts to prevent deflation, but Takaichi signaled her intention to pass the related legislation before the end of the year.

One of the more unexpected episodes of her early tenure was her plan to create a body modeled loosely after the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk helped promote during the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. The American experiment ended without notable results, but Takaichi says she wants to eliminate low-impact subsidies and reduce wasteful spending.

Her first month in diplomacy and security policy has centered on reinforcing the U.S.-Japan alliance and managing rising tensions with China over Taiwan. Her first meeting with President Trump, who visited Japan on Oct. 28, took place on the USS George Washington at Yokosuka Naval Base. Drawing on shared memories of the Abe era, she reminded Trump that he and Abe had pledged to strengthen regional peace and stability during a visit to the same ship six years earlier. She then delivered a message Trump wanted to hear: Japan would “fundamentally reinforce its defense capabilities.”

A notable development came in Japan’s relationship with the administration of President Lee Jae Myung. Takaichi’s outreach suggested an interest in avoiding simultaneous friction with China and Korea, which would complicate Japan’s broader strategic alignment. The outcome was positive. After their first summit, President Lee said the two leaders should meet often and expressed optimism about future relations.

The climax of “season one,” as some in Tokyo call it, arrived with Takaichi’s remarks on exercising collective self-defense in the event of a Taiwan contingency. She became the first Japanese prime minister to express such a position publicly. Given the routine scrutiny of Diet questioning and her habit of arriving at her office by 3 a.m. to prepare responses, it was unlikely to have been a slip of the tongue.

Her statement may have been a deliberate move to build momentum for revising Japan’s three major security documents and its longstanding “three nonnuclear principles,” under which Japan pledges not to possess, manufacture or permit the introduction of nuclear weapons. The stronger China’s posture becomes, the more Japanese public opinion tends to shift in support of a robust security response. Her approval rating has climbed even after the Taiwan remarks, reaching 72 percent in a Yomiuri poll and 65 percent in a Mainichi poll. Only 25 percent of Mainichi respondents said her comments were problematic.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks as Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gestures towards military personnel, aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, during their visit to the U.S. Navy's Yokosuka base in Yokosuka, Japan, on Oct. 28. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Every drama faces a crisis, and Takaichi has already encountered one. Trump, who helped ease U.S.-China tensions at last month’s summit in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, has not offered strong support for her. Some analysts note that Trump recently revived the term “G2” to describe the United States and China, raising speculation that he may pursue an informal division of influence across the Pacific. Such a shift has triggered worry among allied governments, which have seen examples of being “trumped,” meaning unpredictably sidelined or contradicted despite being close partners. Whether Takaichi will face such a moment remains uncertain.

As the 2012 nationalization of the Senkaku Islands showed, tensions between China and Japan can last for years. The likely conclusion of “season one,” and the premise for “season two,” will center on the evolving three-way contest among the United States, China and Japan over Taiwan. The region appears headed toward an extended period of strategic rivalry in which the drama surrounding Takaichi’s leadership will be only one part of a broader geopolitical struggle.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.