Japan is set to have its first female prime minister, a staunch conservative who wants to borrow and spend more to rev up Japan’s economy and says she’s willing to reopen a hard-won trade deal with the U.S.
Sanae Takaichi , 64 years old, was elected leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Saturday, in a party poll that followed the September resignation of her predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba . Though the LDP lacks a clear majority in Parliament, she is expected to win enough support from lawmakers to succeed Ishiba as prime minister later this month.
Among Takaichi’s most pressing tasks: fortifying an alliance with the U.S. that has been strained by President Trump’s all-out push to reorder global trade . Japan agreed to invest $550 billion in the U.S. over the next few years in exchange for a tariff of 15% on U.S. imports of its cars, machinery, and other products. That’s a better rate than the 27.5% Japan was facing on cars before the agreement was made, but much worse than the low tariffs most of its exports enjoyed before Trump’s return to office.
On the election stump, Takaichi said she’d abide by the tariff agreement reached by her predecessor. She also, however, floated the possibility of renegotiation if her government determined the pact wasn’t working in Japan’s interests.
That is a sign that the terms of the deal—which, among other things, give Trump the role of selecting investments for Japan to consider funding— still don’t sit easily with a country that considers itself among the U.S.’s foremost allies and its strongest partner in Asia.
“If any aspects emerge that are highly unequal and detrimental to the national interests of both countries, we must firmly voice our concerns. There is also the possibility of renegotiation,” Takaichi said at a press conference in the days before the vote.
The remark points to the potential for further spats over trade and investment, analysts say. Under the terms of the agreement, Trump reserved the right to raise tariffs on Japanese imports if Japan refuses to fund specific investments.
“If she does want to try to reopen that, it is going to cause a lot of friction,” said Jeffrey Hornung, Japan lead at Rand Corp., a California-based research institute, referring to the trade agreement.
An ardent Japanese nationalist, Takaichi was born in Nara, a prefecture famous for the sacred deer that draw thousands of tourists to its principal city each year. Like her mentor, the late Shinzo Abe , Takaichi is a strong supporter of Japan’s alliance with the U.S. and her conservative views on foreign policy and social issues give her a degree of ideological affinity with Trump.
That could help the two leaders build a rapport and strengthen the alliance, analysts say, which is also being tested by U.S. demands that allies spend far more on defense.
A tense negotiation is expected next year when Washington and Tokyo thrash out terms for a new five-year agreement detailing how much Japan pays for the upkeep of U.S. forces and facilities stationed within its borders.
Takaichi, though, is supportive of higher military spending, which should help soothe U.S. concerns. That stance dovetails with the policies with which she’s most closely associated: She is an unabashed supporter of activist economic policy, believing the government should borrow and spend freely to power growth and invest in technology, especially in areas deemed essential to national security, such as nuclear power and artificial intelligence.
Her victory adds to conservative gains in the world’s leading economies. Trump won re-election in the U.S. in November with a promise to crack down on immigration and impose sweeping tariffs on imports. Voter concerns over immigration, sluggish economic growth and stubbornly high inflation are fueling support for right-wing and center-right parties in countries including France, Italy and the U.K.
Takaichi won Saturday with around 54% of the votes cast in a second-round runoff against Shinjiro Koizumi , a 44-year-old scion of a Japanese political dynasty and a political moderate. She led the first round in a field of five, but fell short of winning enough votes to clinch the contest outright.
“Rather than feeling joy, I recognize the immense challenges ahead. I believe there are mountains upon mountains of work,” she said after her victory was announced.
Growing up in a middle-class household where both parents worked, Takaichi dreamed of being a rock musician. As a student, she rode a Kawasaki motorbike to Kobe University and joined a band as a drummer.
While little-known overseas, she has been a prominent political figure in Japan for years, holding several cabinet posts including minister for economic security.
Takaichi’s elevation is a sign the LDP is eager to win back conservative voters who have deserted the party since Abe’s killing in 2022. Many of those voters have drifted to the right, bolstering the fortunes of newer political parties such as Sanseito, whose anti-immigration, “Japanese First” platform propelled it from the online fringe to surprise electoral success in a parliamentary vote last year.
Her premiership could strain relations with Japan’s Asian neighbors, however. Takaichi is hawkish toward China and supportive of Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own. She is a regular visitor to Japan’s Yasukuni Shrine , which honors Japanese war dead including some war criminals. Such visits by serving Japanese leaders are seen as provocative in both Beijing and Seoul, where memories run deep of the atrocities Japan committed during its imperial expansion that ended with its defeat in World War II.
Write to Jason Douglas at jason.douglas@wsj.com and Junko Fukutome at junko.fukutome@wsj.com
