The Koreas | Politics | East Asia

What Does North Korea Think of Japan’s Prime Minister?

The country’s newspaper of record has been noticeably silent of late.

Takaichi Sanae was elected prime minister of Japan on October 21, 2025. How is her government viewed in North Korea? One answer can be found by looking to see how views of Japan’s new administration have changed based on articles about Takaichi published in the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The first time Takaichi’s name appeared in the Rodong Sinmun was on May 28, 2013, when she chaired the Policy Research Council of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The article criticized her for stating that she cannot agree with the “Murayama Statement” on August 15, 1995, in which then Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi expressed “deep remorse” and a “heartfelt apology” for Japan having caused monumental damage and suffering to other Asian countries through its past colonial rule and aggression.

The next appearance was dated April 27, 2017, when Takaichi was minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. The article was again critical of her, as well as other members of the Diet, this time for having visited the Yasukuni Shrine. Both of these first two mentions came in articles published without bylines in the international section, which makes up the last page of the Rodong Sinmun, and neither was particularly significant. Nonetheless, Takaichi was clearly seen as hostile to North Korea even before she became prime minister.

The first mention of Takaichi in the Rodong Sinmun after she became prime minister is from October 30, 2025. Again in the international section, this time the article was attributed to a reporter for the paper. It first noted that Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru had resigned and that “in Japan, where the political situation is chaotic due to political struggles for power and where short-lived cabinets are common, it is a regular occurrence” for a new LDP leader or prime minister to be elected. The piece then goes on to introduce Takaichi, the winner of the LDP presidential election and the newly nominated prime minister, assessing her as a member of the party’s right wing. This was very much in line with how she had been portrayed up until that point, although this time the article went on to assert that “what Japanese politicians hungry for power have in common is that all of them are considerably conservative and representing the rightwing.”

What particularly irks North Korea about the Takaichi administration is Japan’s military buildup. An article dated November 3, 2025 introduces Takaichi as having “consistently argued for the creation of a ‘strong Japan’ and a ‘strong LDP’ by specifying the existence of the Self-Defense Forces in the constitution ever since running for LDP president.” It also criticizes her by writing that “it is the policy goal of the current Liberal Democratic Party to change the constitution and turn Japan into an unabashed war state at any cost, and to achieve this, they have made a political ally of none other than the Japan Innovation Party.” A subsequent piece from December 6 asserts that “Japan’s moves toward vicious renewed aggression to realize the old illusion of the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’ have intensified with the appearance of the new prime minister named Takaichi, who is markedly militaristic, in October.” Then, an article from January 6, 2026, talks of how “the increased military budget compared to last year demonstrates that the current administration is building on the policies of the previous administration, evidently exposing the far-right and belligerent nature of the Takaichi administration.”

Later than month, however, after Takaichi had dissolved the House of Representatives and called an election while presenting consumption tax cuts and proactive fiscal bills as LDP pledges, the focus of the newspaper’s criticism shifted. A piece published on January 27 quoted a German newspaper comparing Takaichi to former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is most noteworthy for her brief time in office, her tenure cut short because of the financial instability triggered by major tax cuts. The Rodong Sinmun was clearly hoping for an equally swift end to Japan’s new prime minister, herself an advocate of consumption tax cuts and a loose fiscal policy. On January 31, the North Korean paper again pointed to the German newspaper article to mock Takaichi’s fiscal policy and suggest that hers would be a short-lived administration.

Once it became clear that the LDP was on track to score an historic victory in the election, the Rodong Sinmun’s coverage became notably muted. An article from February 6 simply quoted Sergey Ryabkov, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, criticizing the Takaichi government’s military buildup. When the election results became known on February 8, the paper ceased running articles specifically about Takaichi altogether.

As suggested by the comment that revolving-door governments are a feature of Japanese politics, North Korean obviously expected that the Takaichi administration would not last long. Niida Chikashi, a North Korean researcher and senior research fellow at the Miyatsuka Korea Institute, argued this very point at an academic conference on February 28. This is why the articles specifically criticizing Japan’s new prime minister all tended to be given little prominence, in the international section. The Rodong Sinmun had underestimated Takaichi, and so was caught by surprise when the LDP won a landslide victory in the February election. That explains its subsequent silence.

In the meantime, North Korean criticism of Japan’s military buildup continues. It is, after all, at the very core of its criticism of the Japanese government. For now, it is avoiding specific criticism of Takaichi, who appears set to hold power for some time, and instead seems to be opting for a wait-and-see approach. At some point, no doubt, criticism specifically directed at Takaichi will return, likely within the context of the military buildup.

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Takaichi Sanae was elected prime minister of Japan on October 21, 2025. How is her government viewed in North Korea? One answer can be found by looking to see how views of Japan’s new administration have changed based on articles about Takaichi published in the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The first time Takaichi’s name appeared in the Rodong Sinmun was on May 28, 2013, when she chaired the Policy Research Council of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The article criticized her for stating that she cannot agree with the “Murayama Statement” on August 15, 1995, in which then Prime Minister Murayama Tomiichi expressed “deep remorse” and a “heartfelt apology” for Japan having caused monumental damage and suffering to other Asian countries through its past colonial rule and aggression.

The next appearance was dated April 27, 2017, when Takaichi was minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. The article was again critical of her, as well as other members of the Diet, this time for having visited the Yasukuni Shrine. Both of these first two mentions came in articles published without bylines in the international section, which makes up the last page of the Rodong Sinmun, and neither was particularly significant. Nonetheless, Takaichi was clearly seen as hostile to North Korea even before she became prime minister.

The first mention of Takaichi in the Rodong Sinmun after she became prime minister is from October 30, 2025. Again in the international section, this time the article was attributed to a reporter for the paper. It first noted that Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru had resigned and that “in Japan, where the political situation is chaotic due to political struggles for power and where short-lived cabinets are common, it is a regular occurrence” for a new LDP leader or prime minister to be elected. The piece then goes on to introduce Takaichi, the winner of the LDP presidential election and the newly nominated prime minister, assessing her as a member of the party’s right wing. This was very much in line with how she had been portrayed up until that point, although this time the article went on to assert that “what Japanese politicians hungry for power have in common is that all of them are considerably conservative and representing the rightwing.”

What particularly irks North Korea about the Takaichi administration is Japan’s military buildup. An article dated November 3, 2025 introduces Takaichi as having “consistently argued for the creation of a ‘strong Japan’ and a ‘strong LDP’ by specifying the existence of the Self-Defense Forces in the constitution ever since running for LDP president.” It also criticizes her by writing that “it is the policy goal of the current Liberal Democratic Party to change the constitution and turn Japan into an unabashed war state at any cost, and to achieve this, they have made a political ally of none other than the Japan Innovation Party.” A subsequent piece from December 6 asserts that “Japan’s moves toward vicious renewed aggression to realize the old illusion of the ‘Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere’ have intensified with the appearance of the new prime minister named Takaichi, who is markedly militaristic, in October.” Then, an article from January 6, 2026, talks of how “the increased military budget compared to last year demonstrates that the current administration is building on the policies of the previous administration, evidently exposing the far-right and belligerent nature of the Takaichi administration.”

Later than month, however, after Takaichi had dissolved the House of Representatives and called an election while presenting consumption tax cuts and proactive fiscal bills as LDP pledges, the focus of the newspaper’s criticism shifted. A piece published on January 27 quoted a German newspaper comparing Takaichi to former U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is most noteworthy for her brief time in office, her tenure cut short because of the financial instability triggered by major tax cuts. The Rodong Sinmun was clearly hoping for an equally swift end to Japan’s new prime minister, herself an advocate of consumption tax cuts and a loose fiscal policy. On January 31, the North Korean paper again pointed to the German newspaper article to mock Takaichi’s fiscal policy and suggest that hers would be a short-lived administration.

Once it became clear that the LDP was on track to score an historic victory in the election, the Rodong Sinmun’s coverage became notably muted. An article from February 6 simply quoted Sergey Ryabkov, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia, criticizing the Takaichi government’s military buildup. When the election results became known on February 8, the paper ceased running articles specifically about Takaichi altogether.

As suggested by the comment that revolving-door governments are a feature of Japanese politics, North Korean obviously expected that the Takaichi administration would not last long. Niida Chikashi, a North Korean researcher and senior research fellow at the Miyatsuka Korea Institute, argued this very point at an academic conference on February 28. This is why the articles specifically criticizing Japan’s new prime minister all tended to be given little prominence, in the international section. The Rodong Sinmun had underestimated Takaichi, and so was caught by surprise when the LDP won a landslide victory in the February election. That explains its subsequent silence.

In the meantime, North Korean criticism of Japan’s military buildup continues. It is, after all, at the very core of its criticism of the Japanese government. For now, it is avoiding specific criticism of Takaichi, who appears set to hold power for some time, and instead seems to be opting for a wait-and-see approach. At some point, no doubt, criticism specifically directed at Takaichi will return, likely within the context of the military buildup.

MIYAMOTO Satoru is a professor at the Faculty of Political Science & Economics, Seigakuin University.

Japan-North Korea relations

Sanae Takaichi election

Sanae Takaichi North Korea

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