All the Reasons Why Feminists Cannot Welcome Prime Minister Takaichi
Chizuko Ueno (Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo)

(Reprinted with the kind permission of Iwanami Shoten from the January 2026 issue of Sekai. Some revisions have been made.)

Public Reactions to the X Post

On October 5, 2025, I posted the following on X (formerly Twitter):

"Hearing that Japan might get its first female prime minister doesn't make me happy. Japan's ranking in the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index will likely improve next year. But that does not mean politics will suddenly work in women’s favor." (1)

The post went viral, drawing a flood of both support and criticism.

Critical posts included comments like, "As a feminist, you should be happy that a woman is breaking the glass ceiling to become Japan's first female prime minister in constitutional history."

Do feminists have to welcome a female prime minister? For those who see women reaching positions of power as a feminist goal, perhaps. In an interview, I responded:

"That sounds like something said from the sidelines to caricature feminism. But it grossly oversimplifies feminism." (2)

Just as women are not a monolith, female politicians are not uniform. When asked in an Asahi Shimbun interview, "Does it matter who the woman is?" I replied firmly: " The era when “the first woman in X” makes headlines is long over. We are no longer in an era where any woman will do." (3)

Several female political leaders have already emerged in Asia. President Corazon Aquino of the Philippines and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India, for example, were both wives or daughters of national heroes or independence movement figures, essentially inheriting their positions. South Korea saw its first female president, Park Geun-hye, but she is the daughter of Park Chung-hee, who led a military dictatorship. Feminists in South Korea did not welcome this female president.

Some emphasize that unlike hereditary politicians, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is a prime minister of the common people, elected through the ballot box, not by birthright. However, to my knowledge, not a single British feminist welcomed Margaret Thatcher becoming Britain's first female prime minister when she rose from working-class origins. When Hillary Clinton fought the presidential election in America, British feminists responded coolly. They harbored no illusions about women rising to the top.

Thatcher was the driving force behind the conservative revolution of welfare cuts, and Ronald Reagan in America followed her lead. Twenty years later, the Koizumi administration pushed structural reforms in Japan. No, even before that, in the 1980s, the neoliberal conservative revolution modeled on the Thatcher-Reagan revolution had already begun under the Nakasone administration. Beginning with the privatization of the Japanese National Railways and culminating in the privatization of the postal service, the conservative revolution was completed. During this period, a paradoxical situation emerged: conservatives championed “reform,” while progressives were forced to defend “preservation.” Japan has had several female politicians seen as "the woman closest to the prime minister," such as Makiko Tanaka, Tomomi Inada, and Yoko Kamikawa. So, should feminists have welcomed any of them?

Japan already has a female leader, Governor Yuriko Koike, in Tokyo, a capital with a population and budget comparable to a European nation. The last gubernatorial election became a "woman versus woman" battle between Koike and Renho, but it wasn't a case of "either one winning was fine."

At the prefectural level, since the 2000s, female governors have been elected in eight prefectures besides Tokyo: Osaka, Hokkaido, Kumamoto, Yamagata, Shiga, Chiba, and Hiroshima. Among them are governors popular with women and those who are not. Female heads of administration are no longer rare. Female legislators are increasing in both the national Diet and local assemblies, and these female legislators are clearly diverse. There are many reasons why feminists cannot support Prime Minister Takaichi.

From an era when "gender doesn't win votes" was the prevailing view, to the 2021 House of Representatives election when "optional separate surnames for married couples" became a national election policy issue, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party opposed it. Some may recall the peculiar scene where, when asked by the media if all opposition party leaders supported separate surnames, they raised their hands in agreement. Yet, the only one who did not raise his hand was then-Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, leader of the ruling LDP. Prior to that, since the Legislative Council recommended separate surnames in 1996, it has been the LDP that has consistently ignored this recommendation. Even during the LDP leadership election, Ms. Takaichi insisted on legislating the use of common names and did not support separate surnames. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has already recommended separate surnames to the Japanese government four times. Under a Takaichi administration, the issue of separate surnames—a symbolic battleground for gender equality—would clearly recede further. Moreover, Ms. Takaichi, the protégé of Shinzo Abe—a leading figure in the gender backlash of the 2000s—and his designated successor, is widely known from her past statements and policies to be a conservative who, far from advancing gender equality, could reverse its progress.She relies heavily on lawmakers with slush funds, surrounds herself with Japan Conference-aligned politicians as close aides, pushes xenophobic immigration policies, and immediately increases military spending... Where exactly is there a reason for feminists to agree with this policy?

Research Analysis: Can Women Change Politics?

With female politicians already emerging in various parts of the world, sufficient verifiable data has accumulated to address the question: "Does politics change when more women enter?"According to the "Survey Report on the Social Impact of Increasing 'Female Politicians' and 'Female Candidates'" (4) by the Chiki Lab Social Research Support Organization, led by Chiki Ogami, and the Public Resource Foundation, a study covering 22 advanced democratic nations over 30 years from 1980 to 2011 revealed the following:

The introduction of parliamentary quotas tends to increase "childcare-related expenditures that promote mothers' employment" and decrease "family allowance expenditures that restrict mothers' employment." Furthermore, in the United States, where abortion regulations vary by state, reaching a critical mass of women in state legislatures was found to "influence state policies regarding abortion restrictions."

An interesting finding is this: While an increase in female legislators in the legislature tends to reduce defense spending and conflict actions, an increase in female politicians at the top of the executive branch or as cabinet ministers tends to increase defense spending and conflict action expenditures. The research report explains this trend with the interpretation that "women must overcome the stereotype that they are 'weak' in foreign policy."This rule of thumb immediately applies to Ms. Takaichi, who announced an accelerated increase in defense spending to 2% of GDP shortly after taking office. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, whom Ms. Takaichi admires, also pursued a policy of strong-arm tactics, dispatching British naval vessels to the Falkland Islands, a small island in the Southern Hemisphere.Incidentally, the LDP government has successively appointed female politicians to key defense posts: Yuriko Koike as Defense Minister, followed by Tomomi Inada in the same role. Koike advocated for Japan's acceptance of nuclear armament, while Inada chaired the "Women's Defense Association" within the LDP. Takaichi provoked China by discussing a "Taiwan contingency."

To avoid being labeled "soft" simply because they are women, they act more masculine than men... In sociological identity theory, this phenomenon is termed “over-identification”. It refers to the tendency of minorities, when trying to gain acceptance within a majority group, to behave more like the majority than the majority itself. This empirical pattern closely matches the behavior of the LDP’s female politicians. Consider Tamayo Marukawa, who once served as Minister for Gender Equality. When the Democratic Party government decided in 2010 to provide a flat 13,000-yen child allowance without income restrictions, she heckled, "You fools. I'll never forget the idiots who made this stupid choice."

Similarly, in 2014, Sugita Mio declared, "Gender equality is an immoral delusion that can never be achieved." By having women voice opinions male politicians might think but dare not say, one senses the ruling party's cunning strategy to create a "women vs. women" conflict dynamic.

The conservative commentariat reserves designated seats for female conservative commentators. Occupy that seat, and you'll receive applause and cheers from conservative men. It's hardly surprising that some women, driven by a desire for recognition, aspire to claim that seat. Yet observing them, one cannot help but feel pity. Because the inevitable outcome is that they'll be made to step on landmines, left to burn in the flames, and then casually abandoned and discarded.

But that's not all. The LDP's choice of a female president likely stems from the ruling party becoming a minority government. Crisis forces unprecedented choices. It's a familiar sight: a declining organization letting a woman close the curtain. A female president might mark the beginning of the end for the LDP. And when it truly ends, they'll likely blame it on women again.

According to the earlier survey report, regardless of gender, politicians who prioritize their party and are conservative are conservative regardless of gender. If that's the case, it makes perfect sense that female Republican lawmakers in the US oppose abortion, just as female LDP lawmakers in Japan oppose separate surnames for married couples. Here too, it becomes clear that judgments should be based on whether policies are friendly to women, not on the gender of the politician.

Does Gender Matter?

The FIFTYS PROJECT, an organization founded by women in their 20s like Momoko Nojo and Kazuko Fukuda, is campaigning to send an equal number of male and female local assembly members in their 20s and 30s to local councils. In the 2023 unified local elections, they supported 29 candidates nationwide, securing the election of 24 of them.For the upcoming 2027 unified local elections, they aim to support 100 candidates nationwide. To achieve this, they launched a crowdfunding campaign for the "Our Baton Fund" (5), which provides candidates with the required 300,000 yen deposit needed to run for office, free of charge. The system works such that the 300,000 yen is returned if the candidate wins; if they lose, they don't have to repay it.

But here too, the question arises: Is any woman acceptable?

Candidates supported by the Baton Fund must meet the following four conditions:

⑴ Support and promote the realization of optional separate surnames for married couples and marriage equality (same-sex marriage).
(2) Support and promote the spread of comprehensive sexuality education and improved access to emergency contraception.
(3) Oppose discrimination against transgender individuals.
(4) Support affirmative action measures, such as quotas, to increase the number of female legislators.

For now, these four conditions can be considered a concise yet essential benchmark for determining whether a politician is supportive of or hostile to gender equality. Judged by this standard, there is absolutely no reason to support Ms. Takaichi. Similarly, there is no reason to support candidates belonging to parties like the Japan Innovation Party, the Japan Innovation Party for Democracy, or the Democratic Party for the People, which aim to legislate the "use of former surname after marriage" that would roll back the right to separate surnames.

Are Minorities Monolithic?

An expert commentary was attached to my interview in the Asahi Shimbun. While the female commentator offered generally positive remarks, male commentator Chigaya Kinoshita submitted a critical comment directed at me. I quote:

"Has the era of 'the first female [something]' making news truly ended?" Are women who welcome breaking through the 'glass ceiling' now 'outdated'? Ueno's declaration of an 'era of selection' – that 'it's no longer a time where any woman will do' – makes me worry it could create divisions among women who might be 'selected by liberal academics'."

The selection of women has already happened. If the "Our Baton Fund" does not engage in candidate selection, I see no reason to support it. Isn’t the desire for women to be monolithic a form of arrogant and irresponsible romanticism on the part of men? Women have never been monolithic. Just as not all women are feminists. And just as men are not monolithic.

Just as Prime Minister Takaichi wasn't chosen "because she's a woman," past male prime ministers weren't chosen "because they're men." And the conservative male voters who strongly support Ms. Takaichi aren't supporting her "because she's a woman."

Another male commentator, Yohei Tsuneomi, remarked:

"Even if there is a sense that Sanae Takaichi isn't quite right, the fact that a woman has become a national leader is a significant step forward. And perhaps the 'not quite right' feeling about Takaichi could serve as a springboard for a female leader who garners broader support. Should we interpret summarizing this with the emotional phrase 'not happy' as the weighty words of a sociologist who has led feminism and gender studies over many years, or as ego born of arrogance from one's position?"

The title states, "Low-level criticism strengthens Takaichi and her supporters." The expression "not happy" is indeed an emotional statement. Precisely because of this, I presented my reasoning in the pages of this magazine, which granted me space. I presented the same reasoning in the Asahi Shimbun, but Mr. Tsuneyama appears to have overlooked it

Among female experts, some have expressed understanding and sympathy for how the daughter of a salaryman family in Nara overcame gender discrimination through effort to reach her current position.

But isn't the model of female leadership presented by Ms. Takaichi a troubling one? It suggests that women can only become leaders by infiltrating the vested interests, advocating for them to an excessive degree, and placing themselves under their protection. The disappointment women feel about the Takaichi administration – often called a copy of the Abe administration and a puppet of Mr. Taro Aso – is precisely this: must women really do this to advance?

Blatant Subservient Diplomacy

The same behavior repeated itself in the meeting with President Trump shortly after taking office. Whether she was jumping around excitedly on a U.S. warship or had President Trump put his arm around her waist is trivial. Far more significant is witnessing the ultimate subservient diplomacy: Japan's newly inaugurated prime minister boarding a U.S. military aircraft with the president, flying over the capital toward a U.S. base, and delivering a speech before American soldiers... It's incomprehensible why true conservatives aren't outraged.

When the U.S. military aircraft carrying the Japanese Prime Minister and the U.S. President flew over the capital, what happened to the capital's air supremacy? Moreover, while foreign heads of state are typically greeted by their own nation's military, the Japanese Prime Minister headed to a foreign base within Japan—specifically a U.S. military base placed under extraterritoriality due to the unequal Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). Demanding that this prime minister review the Japan–U.S. SOFA or address sexual violence by U.S. soldiers would be futile.

This female prime minister emphasized her connection to Mr. Abe to forge an impromptu "friendship" with President Trump, signaling deference to America. It resembled tributary diplomacy, as if her status were only confirmed through American approval. She then readily promised massive investments in the US and increased defense spending.

Even so, is there any reason to support this prime minister simply because she is a woman?

Gender Gap Index and the Imperial System

My post on X stating, "Next year, Japan's ranking in the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index will likely improve," drew criticism that it "amounted to admitting the Gender Gap Index is unreliable."

The Gender Gap Index is composed of multiple indicators across four fields: politics, economics, education, and health. Some of these indicators are unreliable. We are not swallowing the index whole. We relativize the Gender Gap Index, using what is usable, but acknowledging that it cannot measure everything.

Japan has another institution: the Emperor system. While not a power structure, it symbolizes authority—or rather, it embodies patriarchy. If feminism must welcome women at the top, does that mean feminists should rejoice if a female emperor ascends? Would the Gender Gap Index rise if a female emperor were born?

In its 2024 recommendations, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) identified Japan's male-line succession rule in the Imperial House Law as discriminatory against women, alongside the lack of optional separate surnames for married couples, and called for its revision. The Japanese government, reacting against this, protested that the Imperial system concerns Japan's "national polity" and decided to suspend Japan's contributions to CEDAW. (6) It is only natural that international treaties take precedence over domestic law. If Japan has no intention of complying, it should simply refrain from signing such treaties. Moreover, the Imperial House Law should also be deemed to violate Japan's Constitution, which enshrines gender equality.

One cannot help but feel sympathy for female members of the Imperial Family, suffering from conditions like "adjustment disorder" or aphonia. One can also understand the circumstances that led the eldest daughter of the Crown Prince to feel she had no choice but to leave Japan, almost as if fleeing into exile. Furthermore, the former Emperor and his wife possess sincere and warm personalities, embodying a spirit of atonement through their visits to war sites, and that their son and his wife have inherited this intention.

However, regardless of one's character or gender, the imperial system remains inherently oppressive toward women. A female emperor would also face pressure to bear children. I wish to liberate the imperial family from this human rights-abusing system.

A woman at the top. If the system itself is oppressive, it's only natural that we can't rejoice at all, whether a woman or a man stands at that top.

The Future of "Redistributive Politics"

The conclusion reached by political scientists who observed the voting behavior of female voters is that women's suffrage did not change postwar politics for a long time. On the contrary, it supported the long-standing conservative one-party rule after the war. It wasn't until the 1989 "Madonna Election," described by Social Democratic Party leader Doi Takako as "the day the mountain moved," that a shift in the female vote occurred. From this period onward, the female vote began to separate from the family vote, becoming an individual vote and a fluid vote whose direction became unpredictable.

The so-called "Madonna Election" of '89 was described as "women fighting." Around this time, the "Doichildren," "Ozawacildren," and "Koizumichildren" began to emerge.

In recent elections, the number of female candidates has increased, but this trend seems to emphasize "fighting as women" rather than "women fighting." The rise of the Sanseito party, which prompted the LDP's shift to the right, is an example of this. In fact, the Sanseito Party's support rate is higher among men than women. Similarly, the high approval ratings for the Takaichi administration are also slightly higher among men than women. If that's the case, why were women mobilized for a "Sanseito-like" movement advocating "Japanese First"? Many experts believe we must confront this question.

Underlying the postwar trends among female voters is a tenacious form of life-centered conservatism. The welfare state demanded by this conservatism invariably carries xenophobia on its flip side. It entails managing the boundary between citizens eligible for welfare benefits and those who are not. Even high-welfare states like Sweden, which has euthanized disabled people, are no exception. In Japan, a nation increasingly in dire straits, the "politics of redistribution"—the struggle over how to allocate limited resources among whom—will only grow harsher. After foreigners, the elderly will be targeted next—followed by the disabled and the poor. No, the exclusion and attacks have already begun.

Let us keep a watchful eye on the near future of this country led by its female prime minister.

(1) https://x.com/ueno_wan/status/1974822690893742402
(2) Asahi Shimbun Digital, November 2, 2025: "Chizuko Ueno Explains Why She Wrote She Wasn't Happy About the 'First Female Prime Minister'" https://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASTB02PXCTB0UPQJ00HM.html
(3) Ibid.
(4) https://www.sra-chiki-lab.com/reaserch-result/67/
(5) https://www.batonkikin.com
(6) It later emerged that Japan's UN contributions to CEDAW had been in arrears even before this. This led to the absurd situation of notifying that they "would not pay" something they had never paid in the first place.

Chizuko Ueno
Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo; Chairperson, Certified NPO Women's Action Network (WAN). Author of works including Patriarchy and Capitalism, Nationalism and Gender, The Single Person's Later Years, and The Philosophy of Anti-Anti-Aging.

WAN Editorial Note:
As part of a special feature titled “ and us,” WAN has decided to publish a series of essays that examine the rise of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi from multiple perspectives. Related essays will be published on an ongoing basis.

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Text Translated by Chizuko Hanaoka

Original article: フェミニストが高市首相を歓迎できないこれだけの理由 　上野千鶴子　（＜高市的なるもの＞とわたしたち　６）