Takaichi’s first year tests Japan at home and abroad
HKFP · 3 SOURCES1 day ago2 MIN
Summary
One year after taking office on October 21, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi faces a mixed political verdict shaped by defence expansion, fiscal strain and difficult diplomacy with China. Her remarks about possible Japanese military involvement if Taiwan were attacked triggered a diplomatic clash with Beijing, while her government has also expanded military spending, eased weapons export rules and discussed major security changes. At home, markets have been unsettled by large spending plans, low-key Bank of Japan rates and a proposed food tax cut that still lacks about five trillion yen in annual funding. Her administration has also moved to tighten immigration and residency rules amid complaints about overtourism and foreign-driven land prices, even as Japan faces labour shortages and population decline
Key Points
- Takaichi became Japan’s first woman prime minister, and Wednesday marks the first anniversary of her leadership in office.
- Early in her tenure, she angered Beijing by suggesting Japan could intervene militarily if Taiwan were attacked, prompting travel warnings and trade restrictions from China
- Her government has prioritised defence by deploying missile launchers to outer islands, pursuing counterstrike capabilities and easing rules on weapons exports
- Xinhua said critics oppose plans to expand military capabilities, revise Japan’s pacifist Constitution and consider nuclear-powered submarines, warning of higher regional tensions
- Japan’s benchmark bond yield has risen to its highest level in three decades, while a planned food consumption tax cut still lacks roughly five trillion yen a year.
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, Japan’s harder line on security and its strained ties with Beijing matter because they affect the wider East Asian environment in which trade, travel and regional diplomacy operate. The combination of defence expansion, debt worries and tighter immigration rules also points to a Japan that may become less predictable for businesses, tourists and workers from across Asia, including Hong Kong.