REUTERS

Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.

TOKYO >> Japan’s highest glass ceiling shattered Oct. 21 when Sanae Takaichi received 237 votes — four more than needed to secure a majority — in the lower house’s election for prime minister.

The Liberal Democratic Party president, 64, pledged to “work boldly without fear of change” when she became the nation’s first female prime minister, and her supporters and women across the country have expressed hopes for change in Japan.

Women’s advancement

“A woman has become the top leader,” Osamu Kikuchi, chairman of an association of Takaichi’s supporters, said as he rejoiced in Yamatokoriyama City in Nara, her home turf, after watching the televised election. “This could be a chance to change Japan, where there’s a lingering sense of stagnation.”

Former Environment Minister Yuriko Koike, former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda and former Justice Minister Yoko Kamikawa all tried unsuccessfully to become LDP president, with the aim of becoming prime minister.

Takaichi secured the leadership position on her third attempt since 2021. Japan is the fifth Group of Seven country to have elected a female head of government, following Britain, Canada, Germany and Italy.

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Koike, who in 2016 became Tokyo’s first female governor, congratulated Takaichi, telling reporters, “I have high hopes for her, including in terms of women’s advancement.”

A 42-year-old female animator, raising her 10-year-old daughter in Yokohama, also expressed hope.

“I want her to make life easier for those raising children,” she said.

Two women ministers

Takaichi has appointed just two female ministers to her Cabinet: Satsuki Katayama as finance minister and Kimi Onoda as economic security minister. Women currently make up only 15.5% of lawmakers in the House of Representatives, or lower house, and 29.8% in the House of Councillors, or upper house. According to a survey by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and others, the proportion of female lawmakers in Japan’s lower house ranked 141st out of about 190 countries.

In 2020, Sayo Homme, member of the Taito Ward Assembly in Tokyo and a director of the organization Woman Shift, comprising 50 female local assembly members, submitted a request to Takaichi, who at the time was the internal affairs and communications minister. Homme requested that women be allowed to use their maiden names when running for election. Three days later, the ministry issued a notice to all local governments clearing the way for Homme’s request to become reality.

Takaichi “understands the hardships faced by female lawmakers,” Homme, 43, said. “We hope she will advance reforms that make it easier for female lawmakers to work.”

At the press conference where Takaichi announced her run for LDP president, she revealed that she began dealing with menopausal symptoms in her 40s. The doctor who treated her said Takaichi told her, “I’ve realized that Japan doesn’t properly address women’s health issues, so I want to promote measures to do that.”

The doctor said, “I hope she will bring about systems that enable Japanese women to live comfortable and fulfilling lives.”

Role model?

“Takaichi has risen to the top by adapting to a male-dominated political culture, so it’s difficult to say if she will become a role model for many women,” said Kiriu Minashita, professor of gender studies at Kokugakuin University.

But she added: “A woman becoming prime minister is symbolic and will influence changes in gender awareness in society going forward. I hope she will be able to execute policies.”