Sanae Takaichi, the newly elected and staunchly conservative head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, is expected to become Japan's first woman prime minister.
But that doesn't mean she's a feminist choice, analysts say.
Instead, the 64-year-old, who won the party's leadership election on Saturday, has positioned herself as a hardline leader focused on national defence and economic security.
She saw off competition from generational-change candidate Shinjiro Koizumi, the 44-year-old surfing son of a former premier, and the experienced-if-uncharismatic Yoshimasa Hayashi.
Ms Takaichi is likely to be confirmed by Japan's parliament, or Diet, on October 15, and will become the country's first woman head of government and Japan's fifth leader in as many years.
A follower of 'Abenomics'
First elected to parliament from her hometown of Nara in 1993, she has served in key party and government posts, including minister of economic security, internal affairs and gender equality.
She supports aggressive monetary easing and big fiscal spending, echoing the economic policies of her political mentor, assassinated ex-prime minister Shinzo Abe.
On tariffs, she told a panel discussion this month that she would not shy away from pushing for renegotiations with the US if the deal is implemented in a way deemed harmful or unfair to Japan.
She has also voiced her strong concerns about crime and the economic influence of foreigners in Japan, calling for stricter rules — a move analysts say is an attempt to regain voters who fled from the LDP to anti-immigration and nationalist party, Sanseito.
Revisionist views of war history
A former economic security minister, she has in the past been a vocal critic of China and its military build-up in the Asia-Pacific.
She's also been a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours convicted war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead and is seen by Asian nations as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.
However, during the most recent LDP race, she notably softened her rhetoric — a sharp contrast to the vote last year when she pledged to visit Yasukuni as prime minister and ultimately lost to outgoing premier Shigeru Ishiba.
Political watchers say her revisionist views of Japan's wartime history may complicate ties with Beijing and Seoul.
Her hawkish stance is also a worry for the LDP's longtime partnership with Komeito, a Buddhist-backed moderate party.
While she has said the current coalition is crucial for her party, she says she is open to working with far-right groups.
Iron Lady 2.0
Once a drummer in a college heavy metal band, Ms Takaichi looks to the late British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as her political hero.
Women comprise only about 15 per cent of Japan's lower house, the more powerful of the two parliamentary chambers, and only two of Japan's 47 prefectural governors are women.
Her election "would be a step forward for women's participation in politics" but she has shown little inclination to fight against patriarchal norms, said Sadafumi Kawato, professor emeritus of the University of Tokyo.
Ms Takaichi opposes revising a 19th-century law requiring married couples to share the same surname, a rule that overwhelmingly results in women taking their husband's name.
The issue "probably won't be resolved during her term", Professor Kawato told AFP.
Ms Takaichi also recently acknowledged her struggles with menopausal symptoms and stressed the need to educate men about female health to help women at school and work.
But she also backed financial support for women's health and fertility treatment as part of the LDP policy of having women serve in their traditional roles of being good mothers and wives, and opposes same-sex marriage.
Ms Takaichi admits she is a workaholic who would rather study at home instead of socialising and asked all party members to "work like a horse" to rebuild the party and regain public support.
Then she added, "I will abandon the word 'work-life balance.' I will work, work, work and work," which triggered support for her enthusiasm and concern about her work ethic on social media.
However, in her campaign speech, she vowed to improve the gender balance in her cabinet to "Nordic" levels.
Japan ranked 118 out of 148 in the World Economic Forum's 2025 Gender Gap Report, chiefly because of the under-representation of women in government, while Iceland, Finland and Norway occupied the top three places.
ABC/AP/AFP
