Sana-mania in Japan: Takaichi set for second term riding take-on-China wave

While eight months ago, Japan’s ruling party was struggling to garner public support, things have changed drastically since then. What led to the surge in support for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was the change in leadership. Japan’s first female Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has garnered major popularity and support ever since she came to power.

If opinion polls are to be believed, the LDP under her is expected to witness a landslide victory in the country’s upcoming lower house elections. In the span of just four months, the new Japanese premier has met US President Donald Trump, who this week offered an endorsement and an invitation to the White House in March, as well as Xi Jinping and South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung.

However, she also sparked an unresolved row with Beijing over the future of Taiwan, spooked bond markets with promised sweeping tax cuts, and faced fresh scrutiny over her links with the disgraced Unification church.

‘Sana Mania’ takes over Japan

Despite all the ups and downs, she garnered a cult following, which is now being referred to as the ‘Sana Mania’. From her choice of outfits, train journey snacks, to the pink pen she uses to take notes in parliament, all catch the eyes of her supporters.

This week, opinion polls suggested that the LDP and its minor coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, will win more than 300 of the 465 seats in the lower house, enough to give them a two-thirds majority and control of parliamentary committees. Meanwhile, the main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, by contrast, is bracing for heavy losses.

While Takaichi’s policies might be opposed by Gen Z, she has ignited interest among young voters with a savvy social media campaign. Her public profile mainly focuses on what she is not: a hereditary, male politician of a certain vintage with an innate belief in his right to govern.

“Until now, politics has been dominated by senior male figures,” Yuiko Fujita, an associate professor at Tokyo University, told the Nikkei. “The fact that the prime minister is now a woman, someone with a different background from what people are accustomed to, creates a feeling that something is shifting,” he added. Many also relate to her modest upbringing.

He popularity has been so huge that her $900 black leather handbag, which Takaichi uses, has sold out, and her favourite snacks are in demand.

When she called a snap election last month, Takaichi said people must be given the chance to decide whether she was “fit to run the country”.On Sunday, Japanese voters are expected to respond with a resounding yes if everything goes according to opinion polls.