Japan braces for shift to right under 'Iron Lady' fan Takaichi

Sanae Takaichi, the prostimulus conservative poised to become Japan's first female prime minister, is an energetic nationalist with a soft spot for the hard-nosed politics of Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher and the heavy metal music of Iron Maiden.

- Bloomberg [e-mail]

Provided she becomes prime minister, one of Sanae Takaichi's first tasks will be to build ties with Donald Trump.

(BLOOMBERG)

In choosing the former economic security minister as its leader, the Liberal Democratic Party is essentially betting on a swing back to the right to attract the younger voters who have flocked to smaller populist outfits, including the archconservative Sanseito party.

It's a move that could backfire if the party is seen simply reverting to the easy money and hawkish diplomacy of her mentor, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, without any new ideas.

Takaichi is expected to become premier later this month in a parliamentary vote. In becoming the LDP's chief, Takaichi has already smashed a glass ceiling in a nation that has only seen male ruling party leaders.

Her ascent to the top of the political world will send ripples through the male-dominated society that languishes near the bottom end of global gender equality rankings. But like Thatcher, the former UK prime minister whom she cites as an inspiration, her conservative views place her a long way from the stance of progressive feminism.

Her ability to build a lasting legacy as the nation's leader will depend less on her ability to further the position of women than on her capacity to restore the fortunes of a ruling party in disarray after decades of dominance in postwar Japan.