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President Donald Trump offered complimentary words about Sanae Takaichi — Japan’s first female prime minister — upon arriving in Japan on Monday. Takaichi’s resume blends her strong brand of conservatism with a rock-and-roll streak while drawing inspiration from former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Takaichi, 64, came to power earlier this month after the resignation of former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, following the Liberal Democratic Party’s loss of its upper-house majority in July.
Known for her uncompromising views on defense and social issues, Trump’s visit will be her first major diplomatic test. The two leaders will discuss regional security, trade and Japan’s defense spending — areas where their views largely align.
SANAE TAKAIHI BECOMES JAPAN’S FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER, CITING THATCHER INSPIRATION
Lawmakers applaud Sanae Takaichi during a lower house session in Tokyo on Oct. 21, 2025, after she was elected Japan’s first female prime minister. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)
“She’s a hawk on China, and that’s exactly what’s needed right now,” said Gordon Chang, author and Asia analyst, in an interview with Fox News Digital. “That’s not going to upset President Trump — in fact, it will help him in his discussions with Xi Jinping because he can say, ‘Look, the alliances are strong and getting stronger.’”
Chang said the meeting comes at a critical time for regional stability.
“America’s alliance relationship with South Korea is in danger because Lee Jae-myung … is very pro-China and very anti-American,” he added. “That makes it even more important that our relationship with Japan gets stronger — which it will under Takaichi. Things were going very well with Japan, and I think that Takaichi is going to continue Japanese policies, so this will be important.”
Sanae Takaichi, now Japan’s prime minister, is seen playing drums in Tokyo on Sept. 24, 2021, when she was the internal affairs minister. (Kyodo via Reuters)
From small-town roots to heavy metal
Takaichi’s rise is remarkable in a party long dominated by political dynasties. Born in Nara Prefecture to a police officer mother and a father who worked for a car company affiliated with Toyota, she often describes herself as an outsider in Japan’s elite political world.
Left: Newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. Right: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher attends a British-French meeting with President François Mitterrand in the United Kingdom, May 5, 1990. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo/ Georges De Keerle/Getty Images)
Before entering politics, she channeled her energy into music — playing drums in a heavy metal band during her youth, performing songs by Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. She reportedly still keeps an electronic drum kit in her Tokyo residence and plays with headphones to unwind after work. Takaichi was also known in her younger years as an avid motorcycle rider.
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In early remarks, Takaichi said she admired Thatcher’s “strong character and convictions” and that she met the former British leader at a symposium shortly before Thatcher’s death in 2013.
The combination of a conservative politician with a rock-and-roll past — Japan’s first female prime minister behind a drum kit and once on a bike — has helped shape her public image as both disciplined and unconventional.
A hawk on China, an heir to Abe
President Donald Trump, meeting the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Akasaka Palace during his first term as president in Tokyo on May 27, 2019. (Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)
Takaichi is widely described as an ideological heir to the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, aligning with his push to revise Japan’s pacifist constitution and boost the country’s defense capabilities. Her economic policy continues much of Abe’s “Abenomics,” emphasizing fiscal expansion and monetary easing — a contrast to Thatcher-style austerity. Yet her assertive tone and ideological discipline echo the British prime minister she idolizes.
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At home, Takaichi holds staunchly traditional views. She opposes same-sex marriage, rejects allowing separate surnames for married couples and supports the imperial family’s male-only succession, according to The Associated Press.
The two leaders are expected to meet later tonight in Tokyo.
Efrat Lachter is an investigative reporter and war correspondent. Her work has taken her to 40 countries, including Ukraine, Russia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Afghanistan. She is a recipient of the 2024 Knight-Wallace Fellowship for Journalism. Lachter can be followed on X @efratlachter.
