In Japan, a woman at the helm! And so what?

By CHEN Yo-Jung

On 21 October 2025, the Japanese parliament  designated Takaichi Sanae, 64, as the 104th  Prime Minister, making her the very first woman  to hold such office since 1890, the year when  Japan, until then feudal, converted to a  constitutional parliamentary monarchy.

The arrival of a woman at the head of the  government of a country still far behind others  in terms of the status of women indeed  constitutes a revolution that has not failed to  generate astonishment and excitement in the  archipelago as well as in the rest of the world.

However, despite a popularity generating near general euphoria at the political level, this  historic success of a woman appears to have  aroused very little enthusiasm—indeed even  indifference—within Japanese society,  particularly among women.

As sociologist, Ueno Chizuko, a specialist in  gender issues, declared following Ms. Takaichi’s  appointment: “There is nothing to rejoice about!”

At first glance, the world’s fourth-largest  economy seemed far from predisposed to  entrust its highest executive office to a woman.  Despite some progress made thus far in terms  of gender equality, the country retains the core  of the patriarchal social system that has  prevailed in its society for millennia.

Today, it ranks 118th out of 148 in the 2025 World  Economic Forum Gender Equality Index, and its  score in this area is the poorest among the  Group of Seven major economies. Women in  fact constitute only 16% (72 individuals) of the  465 members of the lower house of the National  Diet (Kokkai), and even the new government  formed by Ms. Takaichi includes only two  women out of a total of 19 ministers.

Barely 10.9% of all executives in leadership  positions in the country are women, whereas  this rate averages 30 to 40% in the principal  Western countries. Likewise, the wage gap  remains significant (22%) between men and  women in Japan. Same-sex marriage remains  legally banned, whereas it has already been  legalized in neighboring countries such as  Taiwan.

Married couples are still legally required to share  the same surname, which effectively obliges  women to relinquish their maiden name upon  marriage.

In most cases, Japanese society considers that  a married woman should stop working to take  care of the household.Under such conditions,  the ascent of a woman to the post of Prime  Minister was bound to cause a sensation. Ms.  Takaichi Sanae’s breaking of the glass ceiling in  a country such as that described above  represents, in every respect, an achievement  that should have provided momentum to  movements defending women’s rights.

Yet it must be acknowledged that Japanese  society as a whole has remained unmoved,  observing near-total silence in the face of  Ms. Takaichi’s historic achievement.  Societal reactions are surprisingly  restrained, far from the heated debates that  might have been expected.

Four months after her election, while the new  Prime Minister’s approval rating remains very  high—around 70%—a sense of disappointment  is perceptible among those who had expected  a general surge of enthusiasm within Japanese  society in favor of improving the status of  women.

Sharing sociologist Ueno Chizuko’s view, Arata  Yamamoto, Tokyo correspondent for the  American network NBC, headlined: “Japan Has  Its First Woman Head of Government, but Not All  Women Are Celebrating.”

Primarily Political Popularity  

Certainly, since her appointment at the head of  government, Ms. Takaichi has enjoyed an  unprecedented level of support ranging  between 60% and 70%. But this very high rating  is explained rather by the Japanese people’s  attraction to the hard conservative line  displayed by the new leader.

The image of ultra-nationalist firmness and the  blunt frankness conveyed by Takaichi Sanae’s  statements constitute a welcome novelty for an  electorate exasperated by years of indecisive  and cautious ambivalence from the male  leaders the country has known until now.

In other words, a popularity acquired essentially  through the strong and virile image of the new

Prime Minister, demonstrating firmness and  dynamism in contrast with the attitude of her  male predecessors.

Whether in foreign or domestic policy, the frank  and determined conservative language of the  new head of government—distinct from the  prudent ambiguity to which the Japanese had  grown accustomed under previous leaders—has been enthusiastically received by a young  electorate that is increasingly nationalist and  gradually influenced by a xenophobic reflex  following years of overtourism and the absence  of a coherent immigration policy.

The hard and combative ultra-nationalism  defended by Takaichi Sanae throughout her  political career has led her to position herself as  a champion of opposition to a neighboring  China, rising in power and perceived as  arrogant and threatening.

The diplomatic dispute she provoked with  Beijing over the highly sensitive issue of Taiwan— by declaring before Parliament that a Chinese  armed offensive against the island would justify  action by Japan’s Self-Defense Forces [1]—only  further propelled her to the height of popularity  in a country where, according to polls, more  than 90% of the population declares itself  Sinophobic…

In economic matters, the “proactive fiscal  policy” and successive measures to reduce the  tax burden put forward by the new Prime  Minister have been favorably received by voters,  even though the economic press is unanimous  in warning against the damage that, in its view,  this “financial populism” is likely to inflict on the  national economy in the long term.

Moreover, the fact remains that Ms. Takaichi was  not elected by universal suffrage. As political  scientist Terashima Jitsuro recalls, she was first  elected president of the ruling Liberal  Democratic Party (LDP) by a vote limited to its  920,000 members. And only 250,000 of them  (0.2% of national voters) voted for her, the  remainder of the votes being distributed among  the four other candidates.

The president of Japan’s leading party was  automatically designated on 21 October 2025 by  Parliament to form the government, after  obtaining a majority of votes in the lower house  (237 votes out of 465, four more than the  required majority) thanks to the support of a  coalition with the Japan Innovation Party  (Nippon Ishin no Kai).

Several television commentators agree that the  choice of Ms. Takaichi by LDP members was  motivated by a sense of crisis within the  archipelago’s main political formation: the ruling  party was losing members from its right wing to  Sanseito (“the Party of Political Participation”),  the brand-new far-right party openly  xenophobic and known for its slogan “Japanese  First!” (Nihonjin fāsuto).

There was therefore urgency in stopping this  hemorrhage by placing at the head of the LDP a  leader no less right-wing than Sanseito. Among  the five candidates for party president, there  was no one other than Takaichi Sanae who fit  this profile, even though in normal times the  combative ultra-nationalism deemed  dangerous that she professes had always kept  her at the margins of the party’s mainstream.

It should also be recalled that a woman at the  helm of a state or government is no longer a  novelty in this part of the world.

Almost all of Japan’s neighbors, with varying  degrees of success, have had a woman leader  in recent decades: South Korea (Park Geun hye), Taiwan (Tsai Ing-wen), the Philippines  (Corazon Aquino, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo),  Thailand (Yingluck Shinawatra), Indonesia  (Megawati Sukarnoputri), Sri Lanka (Sirimavo  Bandaranaike, Chandrika Kumaratunga, Harini  Amarasuriya), India (Indira Gandhi, Pratibha  Patil, Droupadi Murmu), Pakistan (Benazir  Bhutto), Singapore (Halimah Yacob),  Bangladesh (Sheikh Hasina, Khaleda Zia), Nepal  (Bidya Devi Bhandari)…

And most of these countries were no less  traditionalist and conservative than the Land of  the Rising Sun (Hi Izuru Kuni 日出る国). Moreover,  as Ms. Ueno recalls, whether in the case of  Margaret Thatcher—an avowed model of  Takaichi Sanae—or that of Park Geun-hye of  South Korea, feminists in those two countries  harbored no illusions upon the advent of a  woman at the head of their state or  government.

In Japan as well, a woman occupying a high  leadership position (minister, civil service, local  government, etc.), though still too few in  number, is no longer a source of surprise. As Ms.  Ueno notes: “We are no longer at the stage of  being astonished to see a woman occupy this  or that position.” For example, since 2016, Tokyo—the capital and the world’s largest metropolis— has had as governor the very popular Ms. Koike  Yuriko, former Minister of Defense. In addition,  recent scandals separately involving female mayors of several local authorities have in a  way accustomed public opinion to seeing a  woman in a high political position.

Be that as it may, the exceptionally high  personal popularity of Ms. Takaichi (and not  necessarily that of her party, whose approval  rating had been at its lowest following a  succession of politico-financial scandals) led  her to tempt fate by calling, on 8 February,  barely three months after taking office, an early  general election.

A more than successful gamble, since she  emerged overwhelmingly victorious, securing  for her party, the ruling LDP, more than two thirds of the lower house of the Diet—316 seats  out of a total of 465. An unprecedented record  that makes Ms. Takaichi the most powerful head  of government in postwar Japanese history.

None of the numerous serious post-election  commentaries and analyses mention the  femininity of the person responsible for this  historic political landslide. As Nikkei Asia  observed, this historic ballot is merely the  “translation of a typically Japanese populism  relying on Ms. Takaichi’s fans.”

A Powerful Woman but an Enemy of the Feminist  Cause  

In short, the exceptionally high approval rating  of the Takaichi government is due to the very  charismatic and conservative political style —“more masculine than men”—of its leader and  has very little to do with Takaichi Sanae’s  gender. This political popularity contrasts with  the societal lukewarmness that greets the  breaking of the institutional glass ceiling by a  woman in Japan.

This general lack of interest is explained by the  fact that, as a fierce defender of traditional  patriarchal values, the new Prime Minister does  not identify as a feminist and has never shown  any affinity for the women’s cause. Even before  Takaichi Sanae was officially appointed to form  the government, the New York Times  correspondent in Tokyo wondered on 19  October: “A woman is going to lead Japan, but  will that be good for women?”

Rather than improving the status of women,  Takaichi Sanae’s political career has been  devoted to defending what she considers the  fundamental traditional values of Japanese  society.

Coming from an ultra-conservative middle class family, she has always defended these  values rooted in the patriarchal system. Her rise  through the political hierarchy, however  exceptional, owes nothing to her femininity nor  to the defense of women’s rights. Her ascent  followed the classic path of a Japanese  politician.

Hence her many nicknames: “a politician in a  skirt” (sukāto o haita seijika), “honorary man”  (meiyo dansei), “Iron Lady” (Tetsu no Onna,  modeled on Margaret Thatcher), “Taliban  Takaichi,” etc.

As the New York Times correspondent in Tokyo  noted: “Sanae Takaichi will break the political  glass ceiling, but she seems set to maintain the  measures that have so far hindered progress for  women.” Interviewed on the street by a  television channel, an anonymous citizen  expressed what many felt: “It doesn’t feel like we  elected a woman!”

According to sociologist Ueno Chizuko, Takaichi  Sanae’s ascent represents a typical case of  “over-identification” by women who seek  distinction within the male political hierarchy by  attempting to position themselves more  resolutely to the right than their male  colleagues, and therefore more hostile than  men to measures promoting gender equality at  the expense of men’s acquired rights.

In an interview with Asahi Shimbun, Ms. Sato  Fumika, another Japanese sociologist  specializing in gender studies, was critical of Ms.  Takaichi Sanae and her “frivolous” attitude—“unusual for a traditional Japanese leader”— alongside President Trump when the two  leaders visited together on 28 October 2025 the  hundreds of American servicemen aboard the  aircraft carrier USS George Washington docked  in Yokosuka harbor.

In a scene that raised eyebrows among many  Japanese—men and women alike—she even  allowed herself to be embraced by the  American president! The sociologist said she  was “disgusted” by this spectacle deemed  humiliating, which in her view demonstrated the  typical case of a woman striving to flatter  “males” within a system dominated by all powerful men.

Ms. Sato even sees in it a miniature reflection of  the relationship of subordination that Japan has  always maintained vis-à-vis the United States.

In fact, Ms. Takaichi’s concrete political positions  place her firmly on the conservative right rather  than within a feminist perspective.

She opposes, for example, same-sex marriage;  she rejects the movement seeking to allow a  woman (in this case Princess Aiko, the only  daughter of the current Emperor) to accede to  the imperial throne, at a time when the imperial  family is experiencing a serious shortage of  male heirs; fearing harm to Japan’s traditional  family values, she rejects the growing societal  demand that married women be allowed to  retain their maiden name.

Her lack of interest in professional equality  between men and women is well known.

Instead of seeking to improve women’s working  conditions, she extols the virtue of long working  hours, regardless of gender. Contrary to  expectations, the Takaichi government includes  only two women out of 19 ministers, as the new  Prime Minister says she wishes to prioritize  competence over parity.

With such hostility toward anything that  threatens to call into question traditional social  values founded on male supremacy, is it  surprising that Takaichi Sanae, Prime Minister or  not, is considered a “traitor” (according to the  progressive monthly Sekai) by those who fight  for the advancement of gender equality in the  country?

It is therefore understandable that even though  Ms. Takaichi is acclaimed by a large majority of  the population in general, this predominantly  political adoration is in no way linked to the fact  that the new head of government is a woman.

As for the weakness of sociological reactions to  the achievement of a woman becoming Prime  Minister, one should also note the reserved  attitude of the media as a whole.

Having been criticized in the past for reporting  deemed insensitive and offensive toward  women, Japanese media outlets now appear  cautious about overemphasizing the female  dimension of Ms. Takaichi’s success.

Conclusion  

Given the gap between, on the one hand, the  high approval rating Ms. Takaichi has enjoyed  since coming to power among Japanese voters  and, on the other hand, society’s near indifference to the achievement of a woman  reaching the summit of power, one may wonder whether, in Japan as elsewhere in today’s world,  breaking a “glass ceiling” necessarily amounts  to a victory for women’s status or for gender  equality.

[1] Ms. Takaichi’s exact statement, translated from Japanese:  “If a situation—for example an attempt to place Taiwan  completely under the control of the Beijing government,  whether simply through a blockade of sea routes or through  the use of military means such as warships—in fact involves  military means, then, whatever one may say, I believe that  this could become a situation of the ‘threat to survival’ type  [for Japan].”

*****

Born in Taiwan in 1947, CHEN Yo-Jung grew up in Vietnam and Hong Kong. He completed his higher education in  Japan and then served for 23 years at the French Embassy in Tokyo as press attaché and translator interpreter. Naturalized as a French citizen in 1981, Chen Yo-Jung became a permanent civil servant at the Quai d'Orsay in 1994. He served as deputy consul/press advisor in several French diplomatic and consular posts,  including Tokyo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Singapore, and Beijing, before retiring to Japan in 2012.