Japan’s parliament elects its first female prime minister

Japan's parliament elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first female prime minister Tuesday, a day after her struggling party struck a coalition deal with anew partner expected to pull her governing bloc further to the right.

- By Mari YAMAGUCHI

Takaichi replaces Shigeru Ishiba, ending a three-month political vacuum and wrangling since the Liberal Democratic Party’s disastrous election loss in July.

Ishiba, who lasted only one year as prime minister, resigned with his Cabinet earlier in the day, paving the way for his successor.

Takaichi won 237 votes — four more than a majority — compared with 149 won by Yoshikoko Noda, the head of the largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. The vote took place in the lower house, the more powerful of Japan’s two chambers of parliament and the one that chooses the prime minister.

As the results were announced, Takaichi stood up and bowed deeply.

Not a feminist

Although Takaichi made history by becoming the first leader of a country where men still largely hold sway, she has not promoted gender equality or diversity.

An admirer of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi is among the Japanese politicians who have stonewalled measures for women’s advancement. She supports the imperial family’s maleonly succession and opposes same-sex marriage and allowing separate surnames for married couples.

And despite a pledge to drastically increase the number of women in the Cabinet, she appointed only two female ministers — Satsuki Katayama as finance minister and Kimi Onoda as economic security minister.

“The birth of Japan's first female prime minister is epoch-making, but [Takaichi] casts a dark cloud over gender equality and sexual minority rights,” Soshi Matsuoka, aLGBTQ+ rights activist, said. “Prime Minister Takaichi’s views on gender and sexuality are extremely conservative and could be a serious setback for the rights especially for sexual minorities.”