Who be Japan 'Iron Lady' Sanae Takaichi and di kontri first woman Prime minister?

    • Author, Tinshui Yeung
    • Role, BBC News
  • Read am in 5 mins

Respected figure: Baroness Margaret Thatcher. Personal goal: Na to become Japan Iron Lady.

Sanae Takaichi don win historic vote on Tuesday wey make am di kontri first woman prime minister. Dis dey come afta her governing party get one important coalition partner.

She be former goment minister and TV host wey bin dey drum for heavy metal band bifor-bifor.

Now she go face many wahala, like di sluggish econmy, households wey dey battle inflation and stagnant wages plus kontri wey dey face low birth rates as well as kasala wey dey bubble for di geopolitical stage.

Na also her work now to handle di shaky US-Japan relationship and see as dem go work out di tarrif deal wey di Trump administration gree for wit di last goment.

Dem born madam Takaishi for Nara Prefecture for 1961, her papa job bin dey as office worker, and her mama bin dey work as police officer.

Politics bin no dey her childhood at all.

She bin also dey known as ogbonge metal drummer sotay dem know her as pesin wey go pack many drumsticks bicos she go break am as soon as di gbedu start to enta bodi.

She bin also dey known as a scuba diver and car lover as her cherished Toyota Supra now dey on display for one Nara museum.

Bifor she enta politics, Takaichi bin work small as television host.

Na for di 1980s howeva she start to dey reason politics for di height of di US-Japan trade wahala.

As she bin dey try understand American perceptions of Japan, she bin work for di office of Democrat Patricia Schroeder, wey be congresswoman wey dey known of how she dey yab Japan.

Takaichi see as Americans dey mix Japanese, Chinese and Korean language and food and see as dem dey group Japan togeda wit China nad South Korea.

She bin conclude say, "unless Japan fit defend imself, e go dey at di mercy of shallow US opinion".

She bin run for her first parliamentary election for 1992 as independent but she loose.

She still kontinu, and win one seat one year later bifor she join di LDP for 1996. Since dat time, she bin dey elected for MP 10 times, and she bin loose only once. And she build her rep as one of di party most outspoken conservative voices.

She bin also hold big goment roles like minister for economic security, state minister for trade and industry, and record breaking tenure as minister for internal affairs and communications.

For 2021, Takaichi bin first enta di LDP leadership race but Fumio Kishida beat am comot.

She try again for 2024, dis time she win di first round of voting only to lose for Shigeru Ishiba.

Dis year na her third try and na im she win so.

She tell group of school children for her recent campaign say, "my goal na to bicom di Iron Lady".

She be follower of di late Shinzo Abe, Takaichi don promise say she go bring back im "Abenomics" economic vision of high public spending and cheap borrowing.

She be strong conservative wey don dey against laws to allow married women to keep dia maiden names say e go against tradition and she also dey against same sec marriae.

Prof Jeff Kingston from Temple University for Tokyo tell di BBC say, "She dey call herself Japan Magret Thatcher.

For di mata of fiscal discipline sha, she no be anytin like Thatcher. But like Thatcher, she no dey much of a healer. I no tink say she don do much to empower women".

But recently she don mellow her tone. For her campaign, she promise say she go make babysitter fee to dey partially tax-deductable and propose corporate tax breaks for companies wey dey give in-house childcare services.

Her family and personal experiences dey show for her policy proposals of expanding hospital services for women health, to give household support workers greater recognition and improve care options for Japan old society.

She tok say, "I don personally experience nursing and caregiving three times for my life.

Dat na why determination don only grow stronger to reduce di number of pipo wey dey forced to leave dia world sake of caregivig, child-rearing or children wey refuce to go school".

She add say, "I wan create society wia pipo no need to give up dia careers".

She be regular visitor to di controversial Yasukuni Shrine. Dis shrine dey honour Japan pipo wey die for war including convicted war criminals.

She don also ask make dem reduce constitutional restrictions for di kontri Self-Defence Forces, wey dem no dey allow get offensive capabilities.