A historic moment with a warning

For many young girls in Japan today, the image of Sane Takaichi taking the reins of power as the country’s first female leader is powerful and formative.

This means that patriarchal societies and political systems that have long been dominated by men are now led by women.

But while Optics speaks of a progressive moment, some women don’t see her as a proponent of change.

“It was very interesting to see how people outside of Japan reacted to the news.” Aida Ogura, 21, says.

“Everybody thinks, ‘Wow, she’s the first female prime minister in the history of Japan and this will be a great opportunity for women’s empowerment and gender equality in Japan’.”

“I think that’s a very naive explanation.”

Instead, Ms. Ogura points to her “political beliefs and what she stands for”: “She perpetuates the patriarchal system.”

A big fan of Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first female prime minister, Sane Takaichi, always wanted to be her country’s “Iron Lady”.

And like Thatcher, Takaichi is a staunch conservative.

Observers say her leadership is a ploy by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to appeal to a more conservative base that has recently gravitated to Japan’s parties on the right.

Takaichi opposes same-sex marriage and has long stood against laws that allow married couples to have separate surnames, preventing many women from keeping their maiden names.

She is also against women being in line for succession in the royal family.

However, she softened some of her messaging during her campaign — saying she favors tax breaks for companies that provide childcare to their employees and talking about possible tax breaks for families spending on childcare.

But over the years she has supported the idea of ​​a more traditional role for women in society and in the family.

When it comes to women’s issues, Takai is consistent with her country’s less impressive record on gender issues.

Japanese women are among the best educated and highest qualified in the world and yet they struggle with the expectations of a stereotypical society that still pushes them into traditional roles.

According to the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Gender Gap Index, Japan ranks 118th out of 148 countries, with significantly underrepresented women in politics.

Leadership positions have traditionally been dominated by men, and Japan has struggled to increase the number of female lawmakers and business leaders.

The world’s fourth-largest economy ranks last among the G7 countries when it comes to the share of women in their national parliaments. Notably, 15.7% of Japan’s MPs are women, the lowest number among the 7.

When it comes to women’s reproductive health, it’s even slower: just this week it was announced that the “morning after” pill – a form of emergency contraception available without a prescription in more than 90 countries – has finally been approved. Over the counter use in Japan.

Nevertheless, some see Takaichi’s rise to power as a pivotal moment that could change the way women view their future.

Naomi Koshi, who became the country’s youngest female mayor in 2012, told Japan’s Kyodo news agency that “Ms. Takai is very important in being prime minister, which has a broad influence on society.”

Koshi argued that having a female prime minister in Japan would “reduce psychological barriers” for women and girls, helping them feel it was normal to “stand up” as leaders in companies and society, even though gender-based stereotypes and expectations still persist.

But Audrey Hill-Ukawa, 20, points out that while it is remarkable that Japan has the first female leader, it must be remembered that it took her more than 30 years to reach this position.

“She also doesn’t really go against the grain. She’s talking like men.”

Ms Hill-Ukawa adds that she should not be pigeonholed just because she is a woman.

“We need to make sure we’re talking about her policies. We need to be able to criticize her like everyone else.”

It’s not what Takaichi says that makes people label her as a defender of the patriarchy.

It is also clear who her champions are in the party.

She is a protégé of the late former hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and was backed in the leadership election by Taro Aso – a senior figure in the LDP who heads one of the ruling party’s most influential conservative factions.

His group’s support for Sane Takaichi was instrumental in rallying the right wing of the party behind him.

“I think it’s hard for women to rank in relation to her success because it promotes the idea that we have to follow the status quo,” says 21-year-old Minori Konishi.

Ms Ogura agrees, saying that as a figurehead for women in politics, “people will expect the same from us”.

“They expect us to conform, not to go against the ideals they have, and that can make our job more difficult.”

Making history, however, was only the first of the challenges Takaichi would face – not least dealing with a sluggish economy and inflation and regaining the trust of disillusioned and angry voters, as well as welcoming President Trump within days of taking office.

It’s safe to say that no one expects gender equality issues to be high on her priority list.