At an inaugural press conference held at the Prime Minister's Office on Oct. 21. 2025, Japan's first female Prime Minister Takaichi stated, "South Korea is an important neighbor to Japan and a necessary partner in addressing various challenges facing the international community." She added, "The importance of the Japan-South Korea relationship is now even greater," and, "Building on the foundation of the Japan-South Korea relationship established to date, I hope to develop the relationship in a future-oriented and stable manner." She said, "I also hope to meet with President Lee Jae Myung." (PHOTO: Prime Minister's Office of Japan)
Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, immediately after taking office, characterized the South Korea-Japan relationship as an “increasingly important partnership” and expressed her commitment to cooperation.
Korean President Lee Jae Myung personally sent a congratulatory message, expressing his willingness for dialogue between the two leaders. This raises the question of whether a new chapter in the restoration of South Korea-Japan relations will open.
At an inaugural press conference held at the Prime Minister’s Office on Oct. 21. 2025, Japan’s first female Prime Minister Takaichi stated, “South Korea is an important neighbor to Japan and a necessary partner in addressing various challenges facing the international community.” She added, “The importance of the Japan-South Korea relationship is now even greater,” and, “Building on the foundation of the Japan-South Korea relationship established to date, I hope to develop the relationship in a future-oriented and stable manner.” She said, “I also hope to meet with President Lee Jae Myung.”
Prime Minister Takaichi also emphasized the need to restore communication channels, saying, “I intend to promote solid communication between the two governments.”
Takaichi also emphasized the importance of South Korea-US-Japan security cooperation. He said, “The three countries of Japan, the US, and South Korea need to cooperate on security and economic security in response to North Korea,” and added, “We will definitely pursue cooperation from a strategic perspective as well.”
President Lee Jae Myung on Oct. 21 said he hoped to meet in person new Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, her country’s first female head of state and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and hold “constructive dialogue” with her at the gathering of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in Gyeongju, Korea.
He wrote on the official website of the Office of the President, “I congratulate the inauguration of Prime Minister Takaichi.” “Korea and Japan are neighbors that share the same front yard and have developed cooperative relations in various sectors including politics, security, economy, and socio-cultural and people-to-people exchanges,” he said. “Now we stand at an important turning point in opening a new 60-year era of bilateral ties.”
“At a time when uncertainty has never been higher in the international situation, the importance of Korea-Japan ties is also greater than ever,” he added. “At this critical time, I look forward to jointly bolstering the future-oriented and mutually beneficial cooperation between our two countries and our two peoples with the Prime Minister.”
After becoming prime minister on Oct. 21, Takaichi formed her cabinet. While she had said that she wanted her cabinet to include as many women as those in the Nordic countries, only two women would actually join the cabinet: Satsuki Katayama as Japan’s first female finance minister, and Kimi Onoda as economic security minister. In her inaugural press conference, Takaichi said that she “prioritised equality of opportunity” above all else, and had selected ministers based on their qualifications, not gender.
The cabinet was viewed as favoring party unity, with Takaichi’s rivals receiving key positions: Toshimitsu Motegi as foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi as internal affairs minister and Shinjiro Koizumi as defense minister. Ishiba’s confidant Ryosei Akazawa was promoted to minister of economy, trade and industry, showing a degree of continuity. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara, however, is ideologically aligned with Prime Minister Takaichi, a break from recent prime ministers.
During the first press conference of as prime minister at the Residence on Oct. 21, Prime Minister Takaichi outlined her key priorities such as tackling rising inflation and also said that she would work to implement suspension of the provisional gasoline tax rate.
Prime Minister Takaichi also announced her other plans such as the proposal for creating a back-up capital region, overhauling the country’s social security system, revising the constitution, and creating a majority government to bring stability while listening to opposition parties regarding national policies and raising the national tax-free income threshold, which are also in line with her agreement with the Japan Innovation Party.
Prime Minister Takaichi also stated that crisis management is part of her core agendas in her premiership and laid out her plans to increase the collaboration of the public and private sectors in investing in economic, energy, and food security. According to local reports, Prime Minister Takaichi is currently planning a USD 92.19 billion economic stimulus package as part of her first economic initiative policies aimed for “responsible proactive fiscal policy”, which has three main pillars; namely measures to counter inflation, investment in growth industries, and national security. Other proposals also include the expansion of local government grants for small and medium businesses and additional investments in technology such as artificial intelligence and semiconductors.
During her first policy speech at the National Diet on Oct. 24 October 2025, Prime Minister Takaichi repeated her priorities in tackling inflation, fiscal spending, the creation of a economic growth panel, and her previous proposal on scrapping the provisional tax on gasoline.
Prime Minister Takaichi also stated that she would bring forward Japan’s plans to raise annual military spending to 2% of GDP, announcing a new target of March 2026, rather than the previous target of 2027 in an aim to modernize and upgrade the capabilities of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, while laying out a proposal to revise the country’s three national security documents due to the evolving threats in the region, such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Gaza war, the Red Sea crisis, and increasing military actions by North Korea, Russia, and China. Takaichi also mentioned the need to continuation of Japan’s alliance with the United States while enhancing Japan’s diplomacy to the international community.
Prime Minister Takaichi also renewed her two predecessors’ efforts to make Japan a leading asset management center and for their plan of setting up an agency for disaster prevention. Takaichi emphasized the need for immigrant labour, saying that foreign workers are still needed to supplement Japan’s declining population.
She highlighted the need to balance labour market needs and the increasing immigrant population, noting that the country’s acceptance of migrants is premised on their compliance with Japan’s rules and laws, and vowed to strengthen regulations to enforce compliance.
Prime Minister Takaichi, like all other candidates in the 2025 LDP leadership election, supports revising article nine of the Japanese constitution to include mention of the Japan Self-Defence Forces. In 2021, she advocated revising the constitution to reposition the Self-Defense Forces as a “National Army”, and increasing defense spending to promote the procurement of advanced equipment and research and development. She stated that in the event of war, “it is important to neutralize enemy bases first.” She has proposed the adoption of anti-espionage legislation, something also supported by the opposition parties such as the Democratic Party for the People. She is also in favour of the creation of a national intelligence agency.
Prime Minister Takaichi has been critical of Chinese economic practices such as intellectual property theft, and has voiced support for reducing economic dependence on China. She has argued for deployment of U.S. medium-range missiles to Japan, and the removal of marine buoys placed by China in waters both countries claim as part of the Senkaku Islands dispute. In April 2025, she visited Taiwan and met with President Lai Ching-te. Prime Minister Takaichi has repeated Shinzo Abe’s statement that a “Taiwan emergency is a Japan emergency.” During the 2021 Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, in which she placed third, her stance on China was the most hawkish of any candidate.
In 2008, Prime Minister Takaichi published a statement on protests calling for revision of the U.S.–Japan Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), following the arrest of a US marine in Okinawa on suspicion of child rape. Takaichi argued the US was unlikely to approve a more favorable extradition agreement, as the US would not accept the Japanese judicial system’s barring of a defense attorney presence during interrogations, and could also weaken its military commitment to Japan. She also argued that changing the SOFA with the US could lead to a change in the SOFA between the United Nations and Iraq, exposing the Japanese Iraq Reconstruction and Support Group to Iraqi jurisdiction.
On nuclear weapons policy, Prime Minister Takaichi has said “It is contradictory to say that we will adhere to the Three Non-Nuclear Principles while gaining deterrence under the U.S. nuclear umbrella.” She has argued for the consideration of allowing US nuclear weapons into Japanese territory on land and sea in an emergency. In March 2022, she said that “Ukraine is not a distant issue”, pointing to Russian military bases in the Kuril Islands, as well as China.
Under former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Japan pledged to raise defense spending to 2% of GDP by 2027. Takaichi now wants to accelerate that timeline to March 2026, calling for Japan to “proactively advance the fundamental strengthening of its defense capabilities” at her first address in Japan’s parliament. But how the buildup will be financed remains unclear. With the yen weakening and Takaichi pushing tax cuts, she may struggle to fund her ambitions.
Trade could prove equally thorny. Since returning to office, Trump has reignited his tariff wars, targeting even longtime allies. After months of talks, tariffs on Japanese goods dropped from 25% to 15%, while Tokyo agreed to invest $550 billion in US industries. But many details remain vague, and Takaichi is expected to seek more clarity.
She’s also brought in veterans to help her navigate Washington. Her new cabinet includes negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, who led recent tariff talks, and several former aides from the administration of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, figures who built a strong rapport with Trump.★
About The Author
