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Who is Sanae Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister?

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, with President Donald Trump, reacts as she was speaking to members of the military aboard the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier docked at an American naval base, in Yokosuka, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, with President Donald Trump, reacts as she was speaking to members of the military aboard the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier docked at an American naval base, in Yokosuka, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Sanae Takaichi’s ascent to lead Japan surprised the country’s political elite. The conservative became the country’s first female prime minister this month. She just signed a rare-earth minerals deal and a document pledging to a new “golden age” of U.S.-Japan relations with President Trump.

Host Scott Tong gets the latest from Kiyoteru Tsutsui. He’s the director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the Japan Program at Stanford University.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2025 WBUR

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