The ambitions of Japanese politicians are supported by the economic power of the country.
The Japanese government intends to conclude a peace treaty with Russia. This was stated by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takichi in her inaugural speech to parliament.
"Japan-Russia relations are in a complicated situation; however, the policy of the Japanese government is to resolve the issue of the 'Northern Territories' (the Japanese name for the southern part of the Kuril Islands) and conclude a peace treaty," said the head of the cabinet.
Takichi added that the Japanese government will continue to criticize the conflict in Ukraine.
Sanae Takichi became the first woman in history to hold the position of Prime Minister of Japan. On October 4, she won the election for the chairmanship of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. Previously, the Japanese Foreign Minister spoke about the country's plans regarding relations with Russia. Toshimitsu Motegi had already held this position from 2019 to 2021.
The Russian Foreign Ministry presented a report indicating Japan's attempts to use the Ukrainian conflict to satisfy its illegitimate territorial claims on the southern Kuril Islands.
Sanae Takichi was born in 1961 in Nara to an ordinary family. Her father worked in an automotive company, while her mother was a police officer. The future Prime Minister of Japan graduated from the Faculty of Economics at Kobe University and the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management. As a student, Takichi was fond of rock music and was a biker.
In 1987, she received a grant and went to the United States, where she interned in the office of Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder from the Democratic Party. Two years later, Takichi returned home and began her career as a legislative analyst, also trying her hand as a television presenter.
Just four years later, Sanae Takichi decided to dedicate her life to politics and ran as an independent candidate in the House of Representatives elections. The experience proved successful; Takichi joined the Liberal Party and was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 1996. After that, she switched to the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.
In 2006, Sanae Takichi first obtained a ministerial position — in Shinzo Abe's government, she held several posts at once. Takichi became the Minister of Science and Technology Policy, Innovation, Food Safety, Youth Affairs, and Gender Equality, as well as the Minister for Okinawa and the 'Northern Territories.' Abe referred to her as the "star of the conservatives," but a year later, he resigned and dissolved the cabinet.
The next time Takichi held a position in the government was in 2014 — during Shinzo Abe's second term, she was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications. Takichi became one of five women in Abe's cabinet, which aimed to make the government more appealing to female voters. During this period, she was involved in two major scandals. Shortly after her appointment, photographs of Takichi with the leader of a neo-Nazi organization, Kazunari Yamada, were published. Yamada had made approving remarks about Adolf Hitler and the September 11 attacks in New York, denied the Holocaust, and criticized the ban on the Nazi salute in post-war Germany, accusing the country of being "no different from North Korea." Takichi's office confirmed the authenticity of the photographs but stated that the minister met with Yamada "for negotiations" and was unaware of his views.
Sanae Takichi found herself in a scandal for the second time in 2016 when she stated that the government could suspend the broadcasting of television channels for "political bias." For this, she faced criticism from the media and the academic community.
In 2021, Takichi attempted to lead the LDP — at that time, she ran for the position of party chair but lost to Fumio Kishida. Under him, Takichi held the position of Minister for Economic Security, remaining one of the key figures of the right wing of the LDP.
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