Japan’s Top Cop Has a Woman’s Face… and a Nuclear Agenda

Japan’s first female prime minister is steering her country onto the path of nuclear war.

Ksenia Muratshina

Are the nation’s foundational “Three Principles” being tossed onto the scrap heap of history?

In mid-November, news from Japan practically sent shockwaves across Asia: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi came out in favor of ditching the ban on nuclear weapons being stationed in the Land of the Rising Sun. According to the head of government—the first woman in Japanese history to lead the Liberal Democratic Party and the country—the constitutional principle… hinders Japan from allowing U.S. nuclear arms on its territory and from hosting American vessels carrying them. Meanwhile, as Ms. Takaichi claims, Tokyo openly “needs” such a nuclear presence for the sake of “deterrence.”

While such ideas aren’t entirely new for Japan, having been floated in political circles for decades, S. Takaichi appears particularly determined. In her push for a constitutional review, she has even set a deadline: by the end of 2026.

The “Three Non-Nuclear Principles”—not to possess, not to produce, and not to permit the introduction of nuclear weapons—have been, along with the renunciation of war as a sovereign right and the threat of force as a means of settling international disputes, a cornerstone of Japan’s post-war national and societal rebuilding, a break from its militarist regime. However, it seems the key word here is “have been.” Both Japanese society and the state, including the current political regime, are no longer what they once were—a country that disavowed its fascist past and apologized to the world for the atrocities of Japanese militarists. Radical ideas are increasingly spreading across the Japanese islands. Adding fuel to the fire, alongside homegrown radicals, is the American military machine, which sees Japan merely as a tactical asset, an ally that must do its job and be ready to fight.

Bad Examples Are Contagious

Even in the West there is a growing understanding that the new Japanese leader’s views are militaristic and fascist, with all the ensuing consequences

It’s important to understand that for decades, the U.S. has invested significant effort not only in arming Japan to the maximum extent its Constitution allows (while making a pretty penny from weapons sales), but also in “reprogramming” the minds of the younger generation. They used every tool available: internships and grants, university partnerships, promoting English and American culture through film and the entertainment industry, and cultivating circles of exclusively loyal politicians and NGOs to push through ideas favorable to Washington. As a result, new generations of Japanese politicians often look to the U.S. as a model, without considering the potential consequences for their own country.

In this regard, S. Takaichi’s militaristic drive fits right in with previous “alarm bells” from figures like Shinzo Abe, Taro Aso, Fumio Kishida, and others. Her approach to relations with the States is perfectly aligned: she has declared strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance a top foreign policy priority, dropped attempts to revise unequal tariffs, admires Donald Trump, accepted his demands to increase the military budget, promotes the purchase of more American weapons, and even proposed creating a Japanese equivalent of the CIA.

In her first weeks in power, the Japanese PM also managed to seriously damage relations with China. First, she announced to the world that Japan would exercise its right to collective self-defense if it deemed an escalation around Taiwan to be a threat (a clear nod to Japan’s Constitution). Then, her government confirmed plans to deploy medium-range surface-to-air missiles (yes, the proliferation of such missiles apparently no longer shocks anyone and is considered normal these days) on Yonaguni Island, a mere 110 kilometers from the shores of the unrecognized republic.

Who is Mrs. Takaichi?

Given such a “spectacular” start to her premiership, it’s worth looking at her background. We learn that after university, the future minister went to the U.S., where in 1987 she had an internship in Congress; that she is a known enthusiast of motorcycles, drumming, and heavy metal music; that as Minister of Economic Security, she “distinguished” herself by justifying the discharge of water from the Fukushima-1 nuclear plant into the ocean; and, most importantly, that throughout her career she has openly associated with far-right politicians, is a member of the nationalist organization Nippon Kaigi, has denied the crimes of Japanese militarists, and opposed Japan apologizing for them.

She has repeatedly visited the Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of the cult of past war criminals, and even had the nerve to call on Japan’s neighbors “not to politicize” the issue of Japanese officials visiting this infamous site. In other words, should we just forget all the victims of Japanese aggression and pretend that honoring militarists is normal? In the same vein is her statement that Japan will continue to support Ukrainian Nazis. Instead of solving domestic problems—economic recession, a demographic crisis, substantial national debt—she is dragging the country deeper into the orbit of a global war.

While people in Japan who understand the dangers of the new prime minister’s belligerent policy towards neighbors are beginning to protest her foreign policy escapades, even in the West (!) there is a growing understanding that the new Japanese leader’s views are militaristic and fascist, with all the ensuing consequences. But it’s unlikely anyone will want to listen to these commentators. Just as they won’t listen to the outraged citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the survivors’ organizations of the American atomic bombings, who are trying to appeal to the prime minister’s reason as she tramples on what is sacred to many generations of Japanese.

The only regrettable thing in this whole situation is that Japan’s first female prime minister turned out to be just like this. Although, she fits perfectly with the modern Western politician mold. Just recall such “outstanding” figures known for the cruelty and level of their decisions as Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Sarah Palin, Annalena Baerbock, Liz Truss, Ursula von der Leyen, Theresa May, Christine Lambrecht, and the hereditary fascist Kaja Kallas… And gender has nothing to do with it; to this list, we could add any number of Macrons, Merzes, Pistoriuses, Scholzes, Starmers, and Rishi Sunaks. Apparently, the Western political landscape today is such that, with rare exceptions, it promotes to leading roles not those who think rationally and constructively, but those who are the most radical and, at times, even absurd.

Whether Sanae Takaichi can change her course or will continue down this slippery slope, joining the ranks of such characters in the annals of history, is something we will witness in real-time.

Ksenia Muratshina, Ph.D. (History), Senior Research Fellow, Center for Southeast Asia, Australia, and Oceania Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences