TOKYO: Japan’s lower house formally reappointed Sanae Takaichi as prime minister on Wednesday, 10 days after her historic landslide election victory.
Takaichi, 64, became Japan’s first woman premier in October and won a two-thirds majority for her party in the snap lower house elections on February 8.
She has pledged to bolster Japan’s defenses to protect its territory and waters, likely further straining relations with Beijing, and to boost the flagging economy.
Takaichi suggested in November that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take Taiwan by force.
China, which regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it, was furious.
Beijing’s top diplomat Wang Yi told the Munich Security Conference on Saturday that forces in Japan were seeking to “revive militarism.”
In a policy speech expected for Friday, Takaichi will pledge to update Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” strategic framework, local media reported.
“Compared with when FOIP was first proposed, the international situation and security environment surrounding Japan have become significantly more severe,” chief government spokesman Minoru Kihara said Monday.
In practice this will likely mean strengthening supply chains and promoting free trade through the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) that Britain joined in 2024.
Takaichi’s government also plans to pass legislation to establish a National Intelligence Agency and to begin concrete discussions toward an anti-espionage law, the reports said.
- Falling population -
Takaichi has promised too to tighten rules surrounding immigration, even though Asia’s number two economy is struggling with labor shortages and a falling population.
On Friday Takaichi will repeat her campaign pledge to suspend consumption tax on food for two years in order to ease inflationary pressures on households, local media said.
This promise has exacerbated market worries about Japan’s colossal debt, with yields on long-dated government bonds hitting record highs last month.
Rahul Anand, the International Monetary Fund chief of mission in Japan, said Wednesday that debt interest payments would double between 2025 and 2031.
“Removing the consumption tax (on food) would weaken the tax revenue base, since the consumption tax is an important way to raise revenues without creating distortions in the economy,” Anand said.
To ease such concerns, Takaichi will on Friday repeat her mantra of having a “responsible, proactive” fiscal policy and set a target on reducing government debt, the reports said.
She will also announce the creation of a cross-party “national council” to discuss taxation and how to fund aging Japan’s ballooning social security bill.
But Takaichi’s first order of business will be obtaining approval for Japan’s budget for the fiscal year beginning on April 1 after the process was delayed by the election.
The ruling coalition also wants to pass legislation that will outlaw destroying the Japanese flag, according to the media reports.
It wants too to accelerate debate on changing the constitution and on revising the imperial family’s rules to ease a looming succession crisis.
Takaichi and many within her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) oppose making it possible for a woman to become emperor, but rules could be changed to “adopt” new male members.
Takaichi was due to give a news conference later Wednesday.