Staunch conservative Sanae Takaichi was elected Japan’s first female prime minister by parliament on Tuesday, in a landmark moment for the historically patriarchal country where both politics and workplaces are dominated by older men.
Takaichi steps into the role as Japan faces mounting economic woes and a fractured politics, and just days before Donald Trump is scheduled to visit.
The 64-year old Takaichi, who is a heavy metal drummer and motorcycle enthusiast, grew up in Nara near Osaka. Her arrival at the pinnacle of Japanese politics tops a remarkable rise, from TV presenter to flag bearer of traditional and nationalist ideals.
Nationalism hasn’t solved their age gap crisis and done nothing to support or encourage new parents. All countries which support business over people are fascist. Fascism, even when managed like a controlled burn, still destroys the country that embraces it. There is no country on Earth that will survive in the long term siding with moneyed interests over the people because the focus isn’t on improving the people. And the People make the state.
Japan thinks it can build or manage or inspire some kind of change with a new type of leader, a woman. It’s such an archaic and dated idea to celebrate, like it’s been 50 years (almost a whole generation) since many other western countries elected a woman to lead - this isn’t progressing its desperation.
Hard right politics for a hundred years has hollowed out Japan and it will collapse in on itself in the next hundred.
How Japan handles depopulation is going to be studied for the history books.