Politics The Takaichi Sanae Thread - Japan's first female Prime Minister

thomas said:

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has reportedly invited Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to visit Chequers, the British prime minister's country residence. Takaichi is said to have declined the invitation. According to unnamed government sources cited in Japanese media, the reasons were said to include her limited English ability and the fact that smoking is prohibited inside Chequers, while Takaichi is known to be a heavy smoker.

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A foreign journalist, at a press conference held by Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara Minoru on May 29, stated, "Recent press conferences with the prime minister have been limited in attendance, effectively restricting the number of questions to be asked. I don't believe Prime Minister Takaichi has answered any questions from the foreign media since taking office," and asked, "Isn't that unusual?" Kihara blandly replied, "We hold press conferences at key junctures." Another reporter pressed further, "At a previous press conference, a media outlet that coordinated the press pool said that it was informed that only one question by the coordinator would be allowed. Prime Minister Takaichi is imposing significant restrictions on questions," and asked, "Isn't this infringing on the public's right to know?" Indeed, at the prime minister's press conference on May 25 when the supplementary budget was announced, only one question was permitted. At the outset of the conference, a reporter stated, "Since we are told that we can ask only question, I will ask on behalf of the coordinating media outlet." However, the press conference with restricted questions turned into a "public relations spectacle" dominated mainly by Takaichi's one-sided explanations.

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In Mainichi, her net approval swung from +16 last month to -4 this month, the first poll in which her disapproval was higher than her approval. In Asahi, her approval fell from +33 to +18. In Asahi TV, her support swung from +37 to +14. In my ten-day weighted moving average, the effect of these polls was to lower the government's weighted average approval to 49.1% and its weighted average disapproval to 35.4%; adjusting for pollster bias raises the government's weighted average approval to 52%, mainly because Mainichi is an outlier, but its adjusting for bias does not affect its disapproval. There remains a question of whether Mainichi's efforts to correct for falling response rates makes it more or less reliable; perhaps all we can say is that the newspaper appears to be reaching a different sample than the pollsters relying on traditional random digit dialing – and the latter polls are moving in Mainichi's direction. The government's net approval is still positive, but it is worth stressing how significant a shift this is. This is the first time since Takaichi took office that the net approval in my weighted average has fallen below +20; until last week, it had never been below +30.

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thomas said:

Probably blinded by her bag and percussion skills.


Reacting to her falling approval ratings, Ms Takaichi posted this on Twitter. You can click the Translate link in the post.

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She is still bragging about sleeping between "zero and three hours" a day, as if that was something the electorate would praise her for. She drew bitter replies. Worth reading.

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I also noticed that some on Facebook started to refer to her as "Bakaichi".

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Ukigumo said:

Takaichi is copying Thatcher who famously claimed she only slept 4 hours per night.

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Lothor said:

She didn't go on about it though, unlike Takaichi. Boasting about the amount of work she does in a country where many people (including me) know someone who has died directly or indirectly from overwork is just bad taste.

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Lothor said:

Interestingly, there's a so-called Thatcher gene that allows about 1% of people to get by on four hours a night. Thatcher: Can people get by on four hours' sleep?

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Ukigumo said:

Oh she's a braggart? I didn't realise karoshi was still a thing. Truly awful.

It is interesting that she developed severe dementia; amyloids are supposed to be dispersed during sleep…

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Ukigumo said:

I've been told by Japanese office workers that they don't necessarily work very hard but rather are expected to spend long hours at work. So asked what the did during those long hours and it seemed to consist of staring at spread sheets, data and the internet bout not really doing anything.

A friend of mine worked for Astra Zeneca. If her manager saw anyone doing overtime they would ask if they were alright and needed help with anything. They liked them to go home at 5pm and have a good work/life balance to remain productive and happy! Astra Zeneca if a very productive company.

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