Women’s expectations for Takaichi turn to disappointment

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrives at parliament in Tokyo on Oct. 5. | BLOOMBERG

Jiji

Oct 22, 2026

Expectations among women for Japan’s first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, have turned into disappointment over the past year, Shin Ki-young, a professor at the Institute for Gender Studies at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, said in a recent interview.

“Women and younger voters who were not traditional supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party had high expectations for Takaichi because she was a woman and appeared to represent a change in the party’s image,” Shin said of the Japanese ruling party. “Those expectations may now have given way to disappointment.”

The approval rating for Takaichi’s Cabinet among women dropped to 42.9% from 65.9% when she took office a year ago, according to a Jiji Press opinion poll.

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