Japan’s Largest Business Lobby Hails Election of First Female Ruling Party Head

Yoshinobu Tsutsui, chairman of Japan’s biggest business lobby, has welcomed the election of Sanae Takaichi as the country’s first female ruling party leader, after the former internal affairs minister was chosen to head the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Mainichi Japan reported.

Keidanren has urged LDP lawmakers to unite under the new president. (Photo: DMO Tokyo Marunouchi) 

“As the first female president, we expect her to fully demonstrate her leadership in revitalizing the LDP and carrying out its policies,” Tsutsui, head of the Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren, said in a statement.

Following her victory, Takaichi told LDP members, “I will have everyone work like a workhorse. I myself will abandon the idea of work-life balance. I will work, work, and keep on working.”

Tsutsui noted that Takaichi has held a series of key posts — including internal affairs minister, economic security minister, and LDP policy chief — calling her a “politician well-versed in a wide range of policies, from the economy to diplomacy.”

He also urged LDP lawmakers to unite under the new president and “quickly establish a stable political framework,” led by the party and its coalition partner Komeito, to “steadily and swiftly advance policy measures.”