First Japanese female PM Sanae Takaichi rejects work-life balance in her first speech: From Shah Rukh Khan to Elon Musk, 5 successful people who think like her

Sanae Takaichi made history recently by becoming the first-ever Japanese woman female Prime Minister. Takaichi, 64, officially assumed office on October 21, succeeding Shigeru Ishiba to lead a minority government. In her first address to members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Takaichi emphasised the value of relentless dedication and perseverance, rejecting the modern notion of work-life balance. “I will keep my promises. We can only rebuild by reuniting every generation and with everybody’s participation. Because there are only a few of us, I ask everybody to work; Work like a horse. I myself will cast aside the idea of work-life balance. I’ll work, work, work, work, and work,” Sanae Takaichi said, as per ANI.

Through this, she asserted that true progress and national strength come through discipline and hard work, signaling a return to Japan’s traditional work ethic and a strong commitment to economic revival.

Over the past few months, there has been increasing talks and debates about work-life balance and how much is too much work. While some people have been pushing for better work-life balance, there are some successful people– like Sanae Takaichi– who reject this idea and instead believe that there’s no substitute for hardwork. Here we list some such people, why they do not agree about having work-life balance, and what they do instead to be successful:

Photo: Tsuyoshi Ueda/Kyodo News via AP