Not "Seppuku"! Japan Welcomes Its Own "Iron Lady"
The new prime minister is experienced in the "Northern Territories" issue, and the implications are obvious.
Image caption: Japanese new Prime Minister Takahashi Sanae
On October 4, 2025, female politician Takahashi Sanae was elected as the president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and various media have predicted that this "Land of the Rising Sun" will welcome its first female prime minister in history.
On October 21, the key House of Representatives vote confirmed this expectation. Who is Takahashi Sanae? What impact will her appointment have on Russia-Japan relations? Anatoly Koshkin, a renowned Russian Orientalist and historian with a doctorate, answered these questions and other related topics in an interview with "Free Media."
"Free Media" (СП): In a country where the prime minister position has traditionally been held by men, what is the reason behind choosing a female leader this time?
Koshkin: The election result of the new LDP president was expected. The main candidates were two: one was the youngest candidate for a party and national leader in Japanese history - the outgoing Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 44-year-old Koichi Kishida; the other was female politician Takahashi Sanae, who was running for the prime minister position.
The selection of these two candidates is largely related to the LDP's last chance to restore its reputation and regain its position - the party had lost public trust and was involved in corruption scandals, which significantly affected the results of the previous autumn's House of Representatives election and the July 2025 Senate election. In these two elections, the LDP suffered a major defeat and lost its majority seats in both chambers of parliament.
These lessons prompted the ruling party to look for new candidates without any "historical baggage" to hold important national positions.
"Free Media": From a political and personal perspective, what kind of person is Takahashi Sanae? How did her political career begin?
Koshkin: Takahashi Sanae is a highly ambitious woman, showing firm determination, and more importantly, she claims to have the ability to lead the party through the crisis of division, or even possible disappearance from the political stage.
In my opinion, it is precisely because of this that the LDP must nominate Takahashi Sanae as the prime minister. Since the LDP is in a minority in both chambers of parliament, the party is trying to persuade centrist parties to vote for its candidate in the prime minister election.
Takahashi Sanae was born on March 7, 1961, in Yamato-Koziyama City, Nara Prefecture. After graduating from Kobe City University, she went to the United States and worked as an assistant to U.S. Democratic Congressman Patricia Schrader.
After returning to Japan, Takahashi Sanae began actively participating in political activities and was first elected as a member of the House of Representatives in the 1993 parliamentary election as an independent candidate. In 1996, under the assistance of influential politician Kaito Kato, she joined the LDP. Later, she served as the vice-minister of economy, trade and industry in the Koizumi Cabinet.
In the 2003 parliamentary election, Takahashi Sanae lost her seat in the House of Representatives, but she successfully re-elected in the next election in 2005. Additionally, she held several positions in the first cabinet of Shinzo Abe, including Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, and Minister for Gender Equality and Youth Affairs.
It is said that the idea of promoting Takahashi Sanae as the prime minister originated from Shinzo Abe himself - during the previous LDP presidential election, Abe had voted for her. During Abe's administration, Takahashi Sanae simultaneously held multiple ministerial positions, including Minister for Science and Technology Policy, Minister for Innovation, Minister for Gender Equality and Youth Affairs, and Minister for Food Safety.
This new Japanese prime minister also left her mark in the position of "Minister for the Northern Territories." This position, established by the LDP and the Japanese government, aims to coordinate the so-called actions to "recover Japan's territorial sovereignty" - areas that Japan refers to as "sovereign territories," which are actually the Kuril Islands, historically under Russian sovereignty.
It should be noted that on Japanese maps, the "Northern Territories" often include not only the southern part of the Kuril Islands, but also the entire northern part of the Kuril Islands up to the Kamchatka Peninsula, as well as the southern part of Sakhalin Island (which Japan referred to as "Kita-Kotō" before World War II). Therefore, Takahashi Sanae may also use the experience she gained while serving as "Minister for the Northern Territories" to advance these issues.
"Free Media": Do Takahashi Sanae's statements on the "Northern Territories" issue reveal more information?
Koshkin: Yes, on this issue, she is no less than Japan's extreme right-wing revivalists. At the same time, Takahashi Sanae advocates for Japan to be fully armed and to become a military power again, opposing neighboring countries and people. Japanese media refer to her as a conservative, "hawkish" figure, and as Japan's "Iron Lady."
She advocates amending the Peace Constitution, abolishing the prohibitions and restrictions on Japan's military policy in the constitution, and restoring the functions of the military.
Specifically, she has stated that her priorities will include: clearly defining the status of the Self-Defense Forces in the constitution, enacting an "Anti-Spy Act" to restrict the rights and freedoms of the Japanese people, and building a new generation of nuclear power plants.
Takahashi Sanae is considered the successor to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's concept of "building a beautiful country" - the essence of which is to restore militaristic Japan before World War II. At the same time, she is a devoted follower of British "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher and strives to emulate her in all aspects.
"Free Media": Regarding Russia-Japan relations, what impact could her appointment bring?
Koshkin: During Takahashi Sanae's administration, Japan's relationship with Russia may also face problems. She is still on the list of people banned from entering Russia. In my opinion, the claims that "Russia-Japan bilateral relations may improve during Takahashi Sanae's term" are just wishful thinking.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has also remained cautious, stating that it will "pay attention to the actions of the new prime minister." Japanese politicians and analysts with influence also believe that there are no signs indicating that Japan-Russia relations will ease or become active again.
"Free Media": Earlier this year, in March, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwafu (Iwafu is a phonetic translation of the Japanese name "Iwafu," whose Chinese name can be translated as "Iwafu") stated that Japan will continue to support Ukraine and maintain sanctions against Russia. What does such a statement indicate?
Koshkin: Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, the Japanese government has always been interested in it. Their goal is to weaken Russia, which means they hope the war continues.
Additionally, the Japanese side is aware that Russia has deployed forces from the Far East in the special military operation (SVO), so they believe that Russia's military strength in the Far East may be weakened to some extent.
Rather than taking measures to ease the tension between the two countries, the Japanese government recently ignored Russia's warnings and conducted missile tests on Hokkaido Island that were clearly aimed at Russia - the missiles tested had a range of 1,000 to 1,200 kilometers, which can cover Russian territory.
We should also note that Japan has begun to seriously consider equipping itself with nuclear weapons. In my conversation, not only government officials, but also ordinary citizens complained, "What should we do? We live in an environment surrounded by nuclear-armed countries, so we should also have our own nuclear weapons..."
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7564252434994872872/
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