Japan’s Sanae Takaichi is proving a surprisingly popular prime minister
The unconventional leader — for starters, she’s a woman — has called an early election for Feb. 8 in an effort to win a broad public mandate for change.
TOKYO — Miho Kubota is a superfan of Japan’s newest and first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. So much so that the 28-year-old recently traveled four hours to visit Takaichi’s hometown, eat a Takaichi-themed lunch, check out the 1991 Toyota Supra that Takaichi drove in her 30s, and return home with a swag bag full of Takaichi-themed souvenirs.
“I have never seen a leader like this before,” said Kubota, who now obsessively watches Takaichi’s parliamentary hearings and news conferences. “To me, she’s a prime minister that we can feel proud of on the world stage.”
Once a long-shot fringe candidate, Takaichi has enjoyed an unusually long honeymoon period since taking office in October — thanks in large part to support from younger Japanese like Kubota, who are drawn to the novelty of a female prime minister and find Takaichi’s unconventional leadership style a refreshing change.
In just three months, Takaichi has gained a reputation as a workaholic for the Japanese people and a decisive leader set on upending the status quo that voters are tired of — and who seems to have fun in the job, too.
Takaichi’s Cabinet has sustained high approval ratings not seen in nearly 15 years, so she is now betting she can capitalize on that momentum. Her own approval rating reached 75 percent in December, according to the Japanese newspaper Nikkei.
This month, she dissolved the lower house of parliament — the more powerful chamber — and called an early election for Feb. 8. After winning the leadership in an internal party vote, she is now seeking a broader public mandate.
“It’s a golden opportunity to give steel to her backbone to make her more of a leader,” said Tomohiko Taniguchi, former special adviser to Takaichi’s mentor, the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
But it’s unclear whether the fandom will result in votes for her Liberal Democratic Party, which has been in dire shape following a series of scandals. Without a decisive victory, her future as prime minister will be on the line.
“Takaichi is taking a very high-risk move,” said Jun Iio, political science professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo. “The biggest risk is believing they can win simply because approval ratings are high, even though it’s unclear whether a truly winning electoral structure is in place.”
The prime minister has reasons to be hopeful.
The overwhelming early support has spawned a new phenomenon, “Sana-katsu,” a concept similar to stans, from those who admire her style, work ethic, directness and personal story.
The simple black handbag she carries in between meetings became a symbol of elegant practicality, and is now on back order through the end of October, according to the manufacturer. Sales have surged for a light pink ballpoint pen she was seen using to take notes during a news conference.
One day late last year, she held a 3 a.m. prep meeting with her aides for a 9 a.m. parliamentary session — which initially drew backlash in a country known for its deadly culture of overwork, but cemented her image as a dedicated public servant.
That reputation came under a spotlight when Takaichi’s pledge during a speech following her election to “work, work, work, work and work” for her country was named catchphrase of the year in 2025.
“I think it’s amazing how hard she works — like, really amazing,” said Aoi Suzuki, 19, who plans to vote for the LDP in her first national election next month because of her support for Takaichi.
And supporters appreciated Takaichi’s candor when she made an unusually blunt statement about a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan that sent Japan’s relationship with Beijing into a free fall.
Bureaucrats cringed and business leaders panicked, but people like Ryoya Ono, 23, saw the kind of straight talk they’ve come to like about Takaichi: “I don’t really get the impression that she’s the type who just says ‘we’ll consider it’ and leaves it at that. … She doesn’t try to keep things vague.”
They see a stark change from her two predecessors, one known for his academic speaking style and the other for repeated use of the phrase: “We will consider the matter.”
Takaichi’s approval ratings remained high after her Taiwan comment despite the diplomatic crisis it caused.
Takaichi’s diplomatic flair has also caught attention.
Supporters went wild this month when Takaichi — who was once a drummer in a heavy metal band — played the drums with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and took selfies with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a fellow right-wing female leader.
“Her diplomacy is so fun to watch, it’s seriously the best,” one fan commented on X. “And those selfie moments? It’s basically just a girls’ hangout. So cute.”
Takaichi, who is the first politician in her working-class family, bucks the trend in a country whose politics is filled with male “nepo babies” who inherited their constituencies from their fathers and grandfathers.
That fact, coupled with her gender, has resonated with many who are tired of a political culture dominated by elite bureaucrats and party elders, said Misako Iwamoto, a women’s studies and political science expert at Mie University. This is the case even though Takaichi has not been particularly supportive of pro-women policies, Iwamoto said.
“She is seen a symbol of breaking through in ‘seniority-based Japan’ or ‘hereditary Japan’ where family background determines everything,” Iwamoto said. “She also helps vent the pent-up frustration of young women who are constrained by a male-dominated society.”
Iwamoto likened Takaichi to Junichiro Koizumi, a charismatic prime minister from 2001 to 2006 who promised to break the mold of old-school politics. At the height of his popularity, his party sold Koizumi dolls, badges and other items that sold widely, especially among younger women.
But steep challenges remain for the LDP.
The party, which has been almost continuously in power since its founding in 1955, is struggling to maintain its primacy.
Last year, the LDP-led coalition lost its majority in both parliamentary chambers. Its longtime coalition partner separated from the LDP after Takaichi’s election and formed an alliance with the main opposition party. A new far-right party threatens to splinter Takaichi’s core conservative base.
With prolonged economic stagnation under LDP’s leadership, voters have been rejecting the party en masse. “Japan is in the middle of a collapse of old-school politics” said Iio, the political science professor. That’s the style of politics the LDP has excelled in — and Takaichi is popular precisely because she’s so different from that bygone style, he said.
“It took more than 30 years for me to finally become prime minister. Now, I may be able to do work that I could not do before,” Takaichi said in a campaign speech this week. “Now is when the real battle begins,” she said, vowing to restore Japan’s economy and protect Japan’s borders after winning a mandate from the electorate.
Takaichi has pledged to step down if her party loses the election. She must convert her popularity into turnout, said Taniguchi, the former adviser to Abe.
“She is prime minister, chief campaign manager, and chief brand manager. She’s everything,” and the responsibility weighs heavily on her, Taniguchi said.
“Conversely, if she wins this election with a sizable majority, then she could build her leadership and recognition very much, in a powerful way,” Taniguchi said. “It’s high-risk, high-reward.”