CIVICUS speaks with Akio Takayanagi, professor and policy adviser at the Japan NGO Centre for International Co-operation, about Japan’s first female prime minister and what her rise to power means for the country and region.
Following a major scandal and electoral losses, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) chose the conservative politician Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first female prime minister on 21 October. The LDP then formed a coalition with the far-right Japan Innovation Party after its longstanding coalition partner walked away. While Takaichi’s election breaks a symbolic barrier in a country globally ranked 118th for gender equality, her hardline positions on immigration and LGBTQI+ and women’s rights, combined with an assertive security agenda, mean human rights advances are unlikely.
