Commentary: Is Sanae Takaichi Japan’s Margaret Thatcher – or its subsequent Liz Truss? | USAEMALL.com

Her incoming Cabinet will also face a divided Diet (Japan’s parliament), where the LDP lacks majorities in both chambers. Expanding the ruling coalition is one option, but the LDP’s long-time partner Komeito remains wary of constitutional revision and nationalist policies. Takaichi has already hinted at courting newer populist parties that share her support for an anti-espionage law and tighter immigration controls.

In many respects, Takaichi’s rise encapsulates the LDP’s enduring survival strategy — adaptation without reinvention. The party’s claim to renewal masks a deeper continuity: reliance on charismatic conservative figures to preserve authority amid voter fatigue and opposition weakness. 

Her leadership may consolidate the LDP’s right-wing base, but offers little sign of institutional reform or ideological diversity.

POLITICS OF SURVIVAL

So whether her premiership brings transformation or merely reinforces old patterns remains uncertain. 

Her commitment to economic stimulus may buy time, but Japan’s deeper structural challenges – ageing demographics, inequality and regional decline – demand creativity the LDP has long deferred. If Takaichi focuses instead on constitutional revision and identity politics, she risks alienating centrist voters and exhausting public patience for culture wars.

A visit from US President Donald Trump later this month and series of regional summits will provide her first diplomatic test. It will also offer a glimpse of how she balances assertive foreign policy with domestic credibility. Much will depend on her ability to convince a sceptical electorate that her leadership represents more than another chapter in the LDP’s politics of survival.

If she succeeds, Takaichi could redefine Japanese conservatism and secure a lasting legacy as her country’s first female prime minister. If she fails, the comparison to “Japan’s Margaret Thatcher” may quickly fade – replaced by that of Liz Truss, another short-lived leader undone by party division and unmet expectations.

Sebastian Maslow is Associate Professor of International Relations, Contemporary Japanese Politics & Society, at the University of Tokyo. This commentary first appeared on The Conversation.