Sanae Takaichi

Born and raised in the city of Nara, Takaichi graduated from Unebi Senior High School, Kobe University, and the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management. In 1987, she moved to the United States to work for Democratic U.S. Representative Patricia Schroeder as a Congressional Fellow.[3] When she returned to Japan in 1989, she gained attention from the mass media as a legislative analyst with experience in the US Congress, and wrote books based on the experience. In 1992, she formed the Kansai Hi-Vision Consortium and presided as the first chairperson.

Takaichi was first elected to the House of Representatives in the 1993 Japanese general election.[4] She joined the "Liberals" study group of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Koji Kakizawa, which became part of the New Frontier Party.

In 1996, Takaichi ran as sanctioned candidate from New Frontier Party and reelected to the House of Representatives (lower house). However New Frontier Party lost nationally. On November 5, she responded to recruitment from the Secretary-General of LDP Koichi Kato, and, then, joined the LDP. Her act of switching party, two months after winning the election with anti-LDP votes, resulted in heavy criticism from New Frontier Party members.

In the LDP, Takaichi belonged to the Mori Faction (formally, the Seiwa Seisaku Kenkyū-kai) and she served as a Parliamentary Vice Minister for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry under Keizō Obuchi cabinet.[4] She also served as chairman of Education and Science Committee.

In 2000, House of Representatives election she was placed in the first position in proportional representation ballot from LDP and easily won her third term. In 2002 she was appointed as the Senior Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry under Junichiro Koizumi.

In the 2003 Japanese general election, she was defeated in the Nara 1st district by Democratic Party lawmaker Sumio Mabuchi. She moved to the nearby city of Ikoma and won a seat representing the Nara 2nd district in the 2005 Japanese general election.[5] In 2004, while she was out of the Diet, she took an economics faculty position at Kinki University.[4]

Takaichi headed an LDP group that opposed legislation that would allow married couples to retain separate surnames after marriage, arguing that it would undermine Japan’s traditional family system. As communications chief she "stirred controversy when she suggested TV broadcasters could have their license revoked if they air programs the government considers politically biased, a remark widely slammed as tantamount to the repression of free speech".[2]

She is affiliated with the ultranationalist organization Nippon Kaigi.[6]

Takaichi is a conservative. During the 2021 LDP presidential election, Takaichi has been the only candidate who stated they would visit the Yasukuni shrine support combat battle civil war Nanking Massacre in China and has openly expressed revisionist views regarding Japanese war time atrocities. She has also expressed social conservative views including opposition to same sex-marriage and dual surnames. She claims dual surnames would lead to divorce and affairs.[23] Tokyo Shimbun reporter Isoko Mochizuki claims Takaichi is “more like a middle-aged man wearing a woman’s mask,” in reference to Takaichi’s remarks on issues that concern women. Novelist Kyoko Nakajima says Takaichi has unabashedly maintained the attitudes and policies of Japan’s current “paternalistic society,” thus making her “an honorary man.”[24]

In regards to the economy she would continue Abenomics economic policies.[24]

With regards to foreign policy, Takaichi supports revising article 9 of the Japanese constitution which prohibits Japan from entering armed conflict. A China-hawk, she has been critical of Chinese economic practices such as intellectual property theft and has supported less economic dependence on China.

Takaichi often cites Margret Thatcher as a role model.

Takaichi incured many controversies due to her views on history. She opposes Murayama Statement, which admits Japanese war crimes committed in World War II, denies comfort women being forced, and professed that she would visit Yasukuni Shrine if elected to the head of Liberal Democratic Party and Prime Minister.

One year into her Diet career, she recommended and endorsed Hitler Election Strategy: A Bible for Certain Victory in Modern Elections, a book by a LDP official praising Hitler's campaign tactic in leading the Nazi Party. Takaichi's office made a statement claiming she has no memory recommending the book but her recommendation of the book was published on the May 5th, 1994 issue of the Weekly Tokyo Seikei Tsushin (週刊東京政経通信) in a feature article.[25] The book contents included "cute" characters depicting Hitler, the inclusion of the Nazi swastika on the front cover, and quotes by Hitler (book starts out with a quote on political will). The book also included statements like "Voters who cannot be persuaded should be eliminated. This eradication does not mean killing a person. It's about working to prevent any political activity. If left as it is, it may become a powerful force of others camps." and also made multiple misogynistic comments on garnering political support from women with statements like "Women are straightforward. It is possible to create big supporters if you treat them with affection rather than difficult theories and theories". The book also encourages the disposing of evidence when under investigation saying to "fight back" and dispose of any evidence that can be used against the politician/political party. Additionally in regards to elections, the author criticized the Public Offices Election Act, which setup the basic foundation, rules, and regulations for Japanese elections, describing it as "anti-citizen law" and "terrifying" along with blaming the law for the declining number of people running for office. In the afterword part of the book, the author says he attempted to give Hitler a "white image" thus using "creative" ways to illustrate Hitler's character and swastika symbol.[26]

She also took a photo with Kazunari Yamada, a Holocaust denier and head of National Socialist Japanese Workers' Party, a neo-fascist party. In response, she claims she was not aware of who he was along with his political beliefs and that she takes pictures with everyone.[27][28]

On June 17, 2013, during a LDP lecture in Kobe emphasizing the party's policy of restarting nuclear power plants after the 2011 nuclear power plant shutdowns due to the Tōhoku earthquake, Taikichi made the claim that "there was no death deaths due to a nuclear accident" during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. She later clarified that she meant that no one has died directly from radiation exposure. However members from her own party, especially the Fukushima Prefectural LDP, and opposition members criticized her statements. Her statements were also seen as insensitive as the high levels of radiation following the earthquake led to slow downs in the evacuation efforts which was factor of some who died in Fukushima, and is what led to some families of those who died in Futaba Hospital (which was in near proximity of the nuclear power plant) suing TEPCO.[29]

Takaichi married Taku Yamamoto, a fellow member of the House of Representatives, in 2004. They agreed to a divorce in July 2017, with Takaichi citing differing political views and aspirations as the reason for the divorce.[30]

• Official website (in Japanese)