Sanae Takaichi, a 64-year-old conservative member of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), became the country’s first female prime minister this October, winning a parliamentary vote and succeeding in her third bid for the party leadership.

A protege of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi has pledged to revive his “Abenomics” strategy, which combines high public spending with loose monetary policy. 

Takaichi’s term in office provides an opportunity for Türkiye and Japan to revive a partnership that never fully materialised during the Abe era.

Japan’s expanding defence capabilities and relaxed export controls are well-aligned with Türkiye's rapidly growing defence industry, creating opportunities for joint development and enhancing the strategic autonomy of both countries. 

Energy security is another area of convergence. Türkiye's role as a regional energy hub and Japan's commitment to maintaining diverse energy sources, including Russian LNG, could lead to a structured dialogue that influences Eurasian energy politics.

Supply-chain resilience, particularly through the Middle Corridor connecting Türkiye to East Asia, complements Japan’s efforts to secure critical minerals and reduce dependence on China, providing a foundation for collaborative infrastructure and connectivity projects across Central Asia.

In diplomatic terms, both Takaichi and Erdogan navigate volatile great-power politics with a similar degree of strategic flexibility, positioning their countries as agile middle powers capable of bridging regions and mediating competing interests. 

If both governments seize this opportunity, a renewed Türkiye–Japan partnership could extend its influence from the Eastern Mediterranean to the Indo-Pacific, becoming a defining feature of the next era of middle powers.

Domestic politics and Sanae Takaichi

Born and raised in Nara to non-political parents, Takaichi had an unconventional early life, working as a heavy metal drummer, TV host, scuba diver and car enthusiast. Her old Toyota Supra now sits in a local museum. 

It was during her work for US Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder in the 1980s, amid tense US–Japan trade disputes, that her interest in politics began to emerge. 

This experience convinced her that Japan needed the ability to defend itself rather than rely on US opinion. 

First elected to parliament in 1993, she joined the LDP in 1996 and became one of its most vocal conservatives. 

She served in senior roles, including as minister for economic security, trade, and industry, and internal affairs and communications. 

Following unsuccessful leadership bids in 2021 and 2024, she won in 2025. On the campaign trail, she told schoolchildren that she aspired to be Japan’s ‘Iron Lady’ in the mould of Britain’s Margaret Thatcher.

She is a firm social conservative who opposes married women keeping their maiden........

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