Well, now it's official-- Sanae Takaichi is the first female PM of Japan

[RazorbackExpat]

Although she became a kind of caretaker prime minister a few weeks ago, she did not have enough votes at the time to start a coalition government, especially after the Komei-to ("Clean Government Party" ) abandoned its long-time partner, Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party. However, she was finally able to cobble together a coalition and has announced her Cabinet. Of special interest to me is cabinet minister Kimi Onoda, whose duties will include "promoting an orderly society of coexistence with foreigners" (外国人との秩序ある共生社会推進 . So, just the opposite of Trump.

And speaking of Trump, the new PM is scheduled to meet with him next week. I wonder how that will go over, considering T's attitude towards female leaders

[iemanja]

1. Japan goes through them fast.

[RazorbackExpat]

2. It's a tough job, and it often seems that Japanese prime ministers

are chosen on a "You do it! No, you do it!" kind of basis. Thus, most of them start out with low numbers, and, since there is no fixed term for a prime minister, they usually don't even make it to 4 years. One exception is the late Shinzo Abe, who served almost 8 years in a row, and about 10 years total, as prime minister.

[RazorbackExpat]

3. I've got to say, though, that Ms. Takaichi seems to relish her position

And she's taking a fresh approach to the job which might be just what this country needs.

[fujiyamasan]

4. It's really something to see

Japanese society is traditionally known to be very patriarchal, so her rise is pretty impressive. Gender roles there are also fairly well defined in my experience, at least they were when I worked at a Japanese compnay twenty years ago.

I wouldn’t have expected them to have a female heading their country before the us.

Being that she’s a conservative I don’t expect her political position to bring other women into more political power or give them more representation however.

It will be interesting to see if Trump can screw up this relationship as badly as he has with other allies so far.

[Celerity]

5. Takaichi is a far RW POS and you misunderstand society of orderly and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals

which is RW and anti immigrant.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanae_Takaichi

Takaichi has been described as holding staunch conservative and Japanese nationalist views, citing former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as a role model and deeply influential on her personal political beliefs. Like Thatcher, she is called the "Iron Lady". Takaichi is a member of Nippon Kaigi, an organisation that argues for a reinterpretation of Japanese history amongst ultranationalist lines. Taro Kono, another LDP minister and member of the House of Representatives, has said that Takaichi is on the far right of the political spectrum within the LDP. Takaichi has been described as far-right by Deutsche Welle and the South China Morning Post, while Time magazine described her as an ultraconservative.

https://archive.ph/iJr6t

The formation of the administration body comes after a group of lawmakers in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party in June proposed measures to realise a "society of orderly and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals".

Those measures included adopting stricter requirements for foreigners switching to a Japanese driver's license and for buying real estate properties.

"Crimes and disorderly conduct by some foreigners, as well as the inappropriate use of various administrative systems, have created a situation in which the public feels uneasy and cheated," Ishiba said at the kick-off ceremony.

Concerns over the influx of foreigners, both temporary and permanent, have resonated with voters, with opinion polls showing a rapid surge in the popularity of tiny populist party Sanseito, which advocates a "Japanese First" agenda.

[obamanut2012]

6. She is far right and awful

She and Trump will love one another.

[betsuni]

7. I asked my (Japanese) husband about her: she's evil and I hate her! he said. Wow.

Hate her more than Trump? Same, he said.

I've always thought she looked like a shark. Becoming PM has made her look like an excited shark.