Who is Sanae Takaichi? The first woman set to helm the Japanese government

Having won the presidency of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Sanae Takaichi is connected the verge of becoming the country's archetypal pistillate premier minister.

Takaichi, a hardline blimpish and adjacent state of the precocious Shinzo Abe, said Saturday that she would "work, work, work" to crook "people's anxieties astir their regular lives and the aboriginal into hope."

Her emergence comes astatine a clip of economical strain astatine location and tense relations overseas — and tests whether Japan doubles down connected the conservative, pro-Abenomics docket that defined the past decade.

Takaichi’s triumph follows Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s resignation aft the LDP mislaid its bulk successful some houses of parliament successful 2024 and 2025, leaving it to govern arsenic a minority.

This besides means that erstwhile the Diet convenes connected Oct 15, absorption parties could theoretically artifact Takaichi's confirmation arsenic premier minister, though analysts accidental the hazard of that is low.

Takaichi's archetypal task is to unafraid the enactment of astatine slightest 1 absorption enactment to signifier a moving majority, probe steadfast BMI said successful a enactment Monday.

However, absorption parties look a dilemma: joining the LDP successful a conjugation could summation their power but hazard alienating voters dissatisfied with the ruling party.

Should Takaichi scope a woody with the opposition, BMI said her authorities volition look respective challenges, including a cost-of-living crisis, managing information and commercialized relationships with U.S. President Donald Trump, arsenic good arsenic addressing home concerns astir the rising fig of foreigners residing successful oregon visiting Japan.

Takaichi is seen arsenic a proponent of "Abenomics," the economical strategy of Shinzo Abe, which espoused escaped monetary policy, fiscal spending and structural reforms.

She had antecedently criticized the Bank of Japan's program to rise involvement rates, which BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda antecedently said connected Friday that the cardinal slope would acceptable rates "without immoderate preconceptions."

The BOJ ended its antagonistic involvement complaint authorities successful March 2024 and astir recently kept rates astatine 0.5%.

"We tin already conjecture that she won't bring ostentation down, due to the fact that if she's going to treble down connected Abenomics of the past, which means a sharply weaker yen, which means much authorities spending, that arguably means much inflation," said William Pesek, the writer of Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades.

Last week, Takaichi reportedly expressed misgivings astir the U.S.-Japan commercialized deal, and said connected a Fuji TV program that a "do-over" of the statement was not disconnected the table, referencing Japan's $550 cardinal concern pledge.

While Citi analysts person forecast a near-term rally precocious of astir 47,000 for the Nikkei 225, they cautioned that Japanese equities are not undervalued, with the Topix 12-month guardant price-to-earnings ratio nearing a historical highest of 16 times.

Analysts expect consumer, defence and export-sensitive stocks to payment nether a Takaichi government, portion concern and existent property stocks could look headwinds.

Takaichi has called for a hardline stance towards China and is besides successful favour of revising Japan's pacifist constitution, particularly Article 9, which renounced Japan's close to wage war.

The erstwhile economical information curate is besides seen arsenic affable toward Taiwan, which could ruffle feathers successful Beijing. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te described Takaichi arsenic a "staunch person of Taiwan" successful a post successful Japanese connected X Saturday, and expressed the anticipation that the 2 sides "can elevate Taiwan-Japan relations to a caller level."

Her erstwhile visits to the arguable Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan's warfare dead, including warfare criminals, person drawn disapproval from China and South Korea, which spot the tract arsenic a awesome of Tokyo's wartime aggression.

Takaichi is going to beryllium "very, precise careful" successful however she communicates her views, particularly connected overseas policy," Kei Okamura, Managing, manager and portfolio manager of Neuberger Berman, told CNBC.

"Her views connected China and Korea person besides been precise good flagged. But she besides understands that she has to support precise bully relations with each these countries, particularly besides with the United States, conscionable due to the fact that each of them person a precise large interaction successful presumption of Japan's biggest export destinations."

He added that Takaichi has not abandoned her beardown nationalistic views. "This is thing that I deliberation we proceed to look astatine much closely, particularly successful twelvemonth 1 and perchance twelvemonth 2 of this administration."