Geeta Singh
After securing a fragile deal with the opposition Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), the deeply conservative Sanae Takaichi made history as Japan’s first female prime minister. Born in Nara, western Japan, the 64-year-old president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was elected in the first round of the parliamentary vote on October 21.
Takaichi pledged to “strengthen Japan’s economy and build a nation capable of fulfilling its responsibilities to future generations.” A known admirer of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, she is recognized for her staunch conservative views and nationalist leanings. Her policy priorities include tackling inflation, currently the top concern for most Japanese citizens, expanding the defense budget, and tightening immigration controls.
A Conservative Trailblazer in a Male-Dominated Arena
Takaichi’s ascent is historic. In a political landscape long dominated by male figures and centrist pragmatism, she has emerged as Japan’s first major female conservative powerbroker — and one of the few women to have seriously contended for the prime minister’s office. Her rise through the ranks of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was not a matter of tokenism but tenacity. Over more than two decades, she has built a reputation as a staunch nationalist, a defender of traditional values, and a champion of a Japan that stands unapologetically firm in its sovereignty and identity.
Her ideological lineage is clear. A protégé of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi has consistently advocated for constitutional revision, especially the amendment of Article 9, which renounces war. She argues that Japan must recognize its Self-Defense Forces (SDF) as a legitimate military power, a stance that resonates with the LDP’s conservative base and a growing segment of the Japanese public concerned with regional security threats.
Doctrine of Strength and Sovereignty
Takaichi’s conservatism is not merely nostalgic nationalism; it is a strategic worldview rooted in realpolitik. She envisions Japan as a nation that must be both self-reliant in defense and deeply enmeshed in alliances with other democracies. In her words and policies, strength and diplomacy are not opposites but complements.
Central to this doctrine is her commitment to the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership. For Takaichi, India represents more than an economic partner, it is a geostrategic ally in the vision of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP). Her perspective dovetails with Kishida’s stated foreign policy priorities, yet her involvement adds ideological depth and durability. Takaichi frames the Japan-India relationship as a civilizational alliance between two democracies committed to preserving a rules-based international order amid growing regional instability.
A Voice of Weight Within the LDP
What amplifies Takaichi’s influence is her political clout within the LDP’s conservative factions. As a former chair of the Policy Research Council, the first woman to hold that position, and a close ally of the right-leaning Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyūkai faction, her endorsements carry significant weight across party lines.
“Minister Takaichi is not just another cabinet member,” observes Dr. Kenichiro Takao, a political science professor at Waseda University. “She represents the ideological continuity of Japan’s conservative tradition. When she champions stronger India ties or constitutional reform, she signals not just policy preference, but party consensus. That gives her positions exceptional staying power.”
This internal authority assures Tokyo’s partners that Japan’s foreign and defense strategies, particularly toward India, enjoy a cross-factional legitimacy unlikely to waver with leadership changes. In the world of diplomacy, where stability and continuity are valued currency, Takaichi’s presence is a guarantee of strategic consistency.
Digital Power and Strategic Modernization
In her current post as Minister for Digital Transformation, Takaichi’s portfolio extends beyond technology. For her, digital governance is a new frontier of national power. She views economic security, cybersecurity, and resilient digital infrastructure as integral to Japan’s sovereignty and international competitiveness. This is where her strategic worldview aligns neatly with India’s growing prominence as a digital innovation powerhouse.
Under Takaichi’s guidance, Tokyo has pushed for deeper collaboration with New Delhi on secure 5G networks, semiconductor supply chains, digital public infrastructure, and cyber resilience. These efforts represent a natural extension of her doctrine — one where digital independence and defense readiness are twin pillars of national security.
Conservative Vanguard of a New Era
In many ways, Sanae Takaichi embodies Japan’s political future: nationalist yet pragmatic, conservative yet modernizing, traditional yet strategically outward-looking. Her rise has given Japan’s right wing a credible, articulate, and disciplined leader who can translate ideology into implementable policy.
More importantly, as the first woman to wield such influence within the LDP’s conservative establishment, Takaichi has redefined what leadership looks like on Japan’s right. Her combination of conviction, intellect, and resilience marks her not just as a political figure of the moment, but as an enduring architect of Japan’s evolving strategic identity.
For India and Japan alike, her role ensures that their partnership rests not on expedient diplomacy, but on shared democratic conviction and mutual strategic necessity, a relationship anchored as firmly in ideology as it is in realpolitik.
