Do we like Sanae Takaichi?
Our score: 3 out of 10. She opposes same-sex marriage in her own words, is tightening immigration rules, and faces unresolved allegations over her campaign and funds, with no charity record found.
Takaichi grew up in Nara, the daughter of a police-department worker and a car-parts maker, and commuted about six hours a day to Kobe University. She is an amateur drummer who idolises Iron Maiden and Deep Purple, which is the best fact about any PM. She won a seat in 1993 as an independent, joined Shinzo Abe's cabinet in 2006, lost the party leadership in 2021 and 2024, then won it in 2025 to become the first woman in the top job. Her hero is Margaret Thatcher.
On the harm check, her own words are the problem. She has said “I am fundamentally opposed to same-sex marriage”, pointing to the constitution's definition of marriage, and in June 2026 Global Voices reported she was still holding that line. She opposes letting married couples keep separate surnames, arguing it could “destroy the social structure based on family units”. She also wants the imperial family to keep its male-only succession rules. A Japanese gender-politics professor said she “has no interest in women's rights or gender equality policies”. I found nothing from her specifically on trans people.
On foreigners, her first policy speech promised a firm response to illegal acts by some foreign nationals while she separated that from xenophobia. A viral claim that she had created a ministry for mass deportations was rated false by the Japan Fact-check Center and AAP FactCheck. But the policy is real: on 1 October 2026 permanent residency rules tightened, with higher income and Japanese-language requirements and a 20-fold fee rise. On the planet, analysts say she puts energy security and nuclear ahead of climate ambition. I found no climate-denial claims from her.
The biggest cloud is the smear-video story. Shukan Bunshun reported that her supporters allegedly made and spread negative videos about rivals in the 2025 party race and the February 2026 election. She denied it in parliament, saying her office told her they had not done it, and added “I believe my secretary”. An IT executive then said he made the AI videos and that a Takaichi secretary asked him how to reverse a rival's lead. Her secretary denies creating or spreading them, and the opposition says the scandal is far from over.
Money questions follow her too. In December 2025 she apologised in parliament for her LDP Nara chapter accepting a 10 million yen donation against a 7.5 million yen limit, and the excess was returned. In June 2026 a university professor filed a criminal complaint alleging false statements in the funds reports of two organisations she leads. No charges have been reported, and the report carried no response from her.
The good stuff is thin on the record I found. Being the first woman to lead Japan is a real milestone, and she promised a cabinet with “Nordic” levels of women. But no charity work or personal kindnesses showed up in the reporting, and the same coverage shows her policies on gender sitting to the right of an already conservative party. That's honestly the whole list.