If you need an expert to discuss the newly elected first female prime minister of Japan, Margarita Estévez-Abe, associate professor of political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is available for interviews. Her expertise is in Japan, politics and gender. She shared her thoughts below. If you’d like to schedule an interview, please reach out to Vanessa Marquette, media relations specialist, at vrmarque@syr.edu.

Professor Estévez-Abe writes: “Japan’s first female prime minister likes to talk about Margaret Thatcher. But Sanae Takaichi is no Iron Lady. She is no Giorgia Meloni either. Thatcher and Meloni came to power riding on their winning parties. Both broke the glass ceiling. Takaichi’s rise to power reflects the desperation of her party.

“The LDP [Liberal Democratic Party] has been losing electoral support and no longer has the majority in neither of the Houses in the Diet. The LDP has had numerous scandals and its policies have made most Japanese citizens worse off. Yet, the LDP has no grand vision for the future and faces multiple formidable rival conservative parties.

“Takaichi was chosen as a knee-jerk reaction to the huge electoral win by the right-wing populist party in July. Her platform is xenophobia and delusional nationalism. Precisely for this reason, Takaichi has never enjoyed significant support of her colleagues. A prime minister who hates foreigners—whether tourists or her Asian trading partners—is bound to be disastrous. She’s no feminist and the two women she has chosen for her cabinet aren’t either.”