Japan May get its first Lady Prime Minister soon. Japan may get its first lady prime minister soon; two political opposites women participate in the race to become prime minister for the first time in Japan’s history.
After the surprising announcement of Yoshihide Suga’s step down as Japan’s prime minister on September 29, the inclusion of two women among the four candidates for the PM’s post seems to be a significant step forward for Japan’s notoriously sexist politics.
But their fate is in the hands of a conservative, primarily male ruling party, and observers have criticized the top female candidate for her right-wing gender policy.
In Wednesday’s election, Sanae Takaichi and Seiko Noda, who sought to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), were the first women in 13 years. The winner is sure to be the next prime minister because of the parliamentary majority by the LDP and its coalition partners.
Although both are LDP members, they are politically opposite in many ways. The ultra-conservative Sanae Takaichi supports a form of patriarchal nationalism and a strong military, while the liberal, pacifist Seiko Noda supports women’s advancement and sexual diversity.
Takaichi and Noda both are former internal affairs ministers, and Noda is the LPD executive acting secretary-general.
Patriarchal Politics in Japan
Two women are vying in the race to become prime minister for the first time in Japan’s history. It’s a potential turning point for a country ranked 120 out of 156 nations gender gap rankings survey of 2021. What is below Saudi Arabia in terms of women’s political representation?
Mayumi Taniguchi, an expert on women’s role in society and politics at the Osaka University of Art, said, “As a small minority in Japanese politics, women have limited choice to survive and succeed” she says They may face boys’ club politics, or they may be loyal to them; and Takaichi choose loyalty, while Noda has been seen to work outside the mainstream but without conflict.
Dense Power Transmission
Japan changed its prime ministers nine times in the last two decades, with less than or a bit more than a year tenure in the office. The exceptions are Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Shinzo Abe, and Koizumi is Japan’s sixth longest-serving prime minister (2001-2006).
On the other hand, Shinzo had the most extended term from December 2012 to September 2020.
During his tenure, Japan became the world’s third-largest economy, but he announced his resignation as Party Leader by mentioning his illness in the middle of his term. Then LDP held its next presidential election on September 14, which Suga won, and two days later, he took over as prime minister.
The Power Race
But after one year, at the end of Suga’s term as President of the LDP, he left some fuzzy legacy behind. Now all eyes are focused on who is in the race. There are mainly four candidates in the race: Fumio Kishida, Taro Kono, Takaichi Sanae and Noda Seiko.
The women compete against former LDP policy chief and foreign minister Fumio Kishida, a former defence foreign minister currently in Administrative and regulatory reform minister Taro Kono. They both come from well-known political families and belong to strong party groups.
Abe Supports Takaichi
But some see Takaichi as a fast-growing candidate, with significant support from former leader Shinzo Abe, whose handling conservative view he supports. A recent media poll of party lawmakers found she has begun to gain the support of party conservatives, while Nova remains firmly in fourth place.
The only other female candidate of PM’s race was Yuriko Koike, who is currently serving as the governor of Tokyo, who made a run in 2008.
