The Woman Behind Japan's Rightward Shift

"Last October, Sanae Takaichi became Japan's Prime Minister after being elected as head of the Liberal Democratic Party, the conservative political party that has governed Japan for most of its postwar history. And on Sunday, after calling a snap election last month, she secured a supermajority in Japan's lower house of parliament, giving her significant power to increase both military and domestic spending, push a harder line against China, and pursue a more restrictive immigration policy."

"Like Margaret Thatcher, whom she frequently invokes, Takaichi is her country's first female Prime Minister, and she is operating in a largely male-dominated political system. She has already received strong support from President Trump, whom she will likely pressure to maintain a hawkish stance against China. I recently spoke by phone with Andrew Gordon, a professor of modern Japanese history at Harvard, about the significance of the election."

"The scale of the L.D.P. victory is unprecedented since the Second World War. It marks the first time a party has secured a supermajority on its own. And it is especially impressive in the context of the last thirty years, when there's been some degree of parity between the L.D.P. and the opposition. The 2005 election, where Junichiro Koizumi led the L.D.P. to a major victory, was also a large margin, but this was bigger."

Last October Sanae Takaichi became Japan's Prime Minister after election as head of the Liberal Democratic Party. She secured a supermajority in the lower house following a snap election, granting power to increase military and domestic spending, adopt a tougher stance toward China, and pursue more restrictive immigration policies. Takaichi invokes Margaret Thatcher and is the country's first female prime minister operating inside a largely male-dominated political system. The scale of the L.D.P. victory is unprecedented since the Second World War and surpasses previous large margins such as the L.D.P.'s 2005 win under Koizumi.

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