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Sanae Takaichi

(高市早苗)

Sanae Takaichi

高市早苗

The latest news and top stories on Sanae Takaichi. A long-serving member of the Japanese House of Representatives, she has held numerous significant cabinet roles. Her past positions include Minister of State for Economic Security, Internal Affairs and Communications, Science and Technology Policy, and Youth Affairs and Gender Equality. Known for her staunch conservative views and close alliance with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Takaichi has focused on strengthening Japan’s economic security, cybersecurity and national defence. She has also chaired the LDP’s Policy Research Council and recently led a commission on public safety and cybercrime. Takaichi has twice contended for the LDP leadership.

The Japan Self-Defence Forces will deploy about 1,400 personnel for the Balikatan exercise, an annual large-scale joint military drill between the Philippines and the United States. Photo: Shutterstock

Taiwan

What does Japan’s role in a US-Philippine military drill mean for Taiwan?

Tokyo’s 1,400 combat troops mark most extensive participation yet in annual joint exercise and signal ‘priorities’ to Beijing, analysts say.

16 Apr 2026 - 10:00PMvideocam

China-Asean relations

Can Japan’s US$10b energy shield oust China’s influence in Southeast Asia?

16 Apr 2026 - 9:02PMvideocam

China-Japan relations

China says embassy intrusion, bomb threat are among ‘grave violations’ in Japan

16 Apr 2026 - 7:02PMvideocam

Japan

Why Japan will remain the most trusted power in Asean despite military push

A survey by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute shows respondents trusted Japan more as a power than the EU, the US, China and India.

16 Apr 2026 - 6:27PMvideocam

Japan’s National Defence Academy students participate in a parade in Yokosuka, Kanagawa prefecture on April 5. Photo: AFP

China-Japan relations

The next frontier: China maps seabed resources as Japan races to tap rare earths

Atlas charts location, concentration and distribution patterns of dozens of elements in seabed sediments.

16 Apr 2026 - 9:00AMvideocam

Japan

Japan backs a female emperor while Takaichi pushes conservative succession plan

A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman taking the throne, even as the prime minister moves to preserve male-line succession.

16 Apr 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

Japan

Japan to provide US$10 billion support to help Asia secure oil

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says the support will be equivalent to as much as 1.2 billion ⁠barrels of oil.

15 Apr 2026 - 6:15PM

Japan

Japan’s Narita Airport expansion revives row over forced land sales

Authorities are considering forcing the sale of land owned by holdout farmers, recalling disputes that sparked violence during the 1960s.

15 Apr 2026 - 4:22PM

China-Japan relations

Should China be worried as Japan starts replacing helicopters with drones?

The move has triggered warnings that the new drones could be stationed in the Ryukyu chain close to the Chinese coast.

14 Apr 2026 - 8:00PMvideocam

Japan

Japan’s Trump tariff deal faces climate backlash over projects’ 20% carbon surge

Campaigners said the three US projects could generate greenhouse gas emissions equal to about 20 per cent of Japan’s annual total.

14 Apr 2026 - 9:34AMvideocam

Japan

‘Not a reliable ally’: Japan eyes Nato as Trump erodes faith in US guarantees

Tokyo and the transatlantic security alliance have a shared problem: what happens if the US walks away?

13 Apr 2026 - 9:16AM

Japan

Japan’s Middle East oil habit gets an Iran war reality check

Almost all of Japan’s oil comes from the Middle East. A closed strait turned that dependence into a trap.

11 Apr 2026 - 8:00AMvideocam

Japan

Japan’s Sanae Takaichi tickled pink to meet UK band Deep Purple

The Japanese prime minister, who played in a Deep Purple tribute band in middle school, called drummer Ian Paice her ‘god’.

10 Apr 2026 - 3:15PMvideocam

Hong Kong society

Japanese band One OK Rock cancels Hong Kong concerts in May

Axing of shows on May 2 and 3 due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ follows cancellation of May 9 concert in Shanghai.

9 Apr 2026 - 6:24PM

Japanese band One OK Rock has abruptly cancelled the Hong Kong leg of its highly anticipated “Detox” Asia Tour. Photo: Handout

China’s military drills

PLA troops facing Taiwan Strait and Japan simulate response to nuclear attack

Eastern Theatre Command, which has several nuclear power plants within its geographic coverage, holds decontamination drill.

8 Apr 2026 - 7:00PMvideocam

An Eastern Theatre Command exercise has tested responses to a nuclear contamination incident. Photo: CCTV

China-Australia relations

‘Neighbours matter’: China, Australia vow more contact amid global tension

Premier Li Qiang says ‘Beijing is willing to import more high-quality Australian products, expand and upgrade bilateral trade’.

8 Apr 2026 - 3:26PMvideocam

Japan

Japan’s deportation drive strikes fear into asylum seekers, foreign residents

Rights groups warn the government’s push to remove more undocumented migrants clashes with its duty to protect refugees.

8 Apr 2026 - 9:30AM

Japan

Japan’s Takaichi seeks urgent summit with Iran as Trump’s Hormuz deadline looms

Japan has been bearing the brunt of the Iran war as the resource-poor nation relies on the Middle East for most of its crude oil imports.

6 Apr 2026 - 1:32PM

Fuel prices are displayed at a petrol station in Tokyo on March 18. Photo: EPA

China-Japan relations

Why China is worried by Japan’s plans to change rules on arms sales

The government in Tokyo is considering relaxing its restrictions on exports of lethal weapons amid heightened tensions with Beijing.

4 Apr 2026 - 9:08PMvideocam

China-Japan relations

With an eye on China, Japan looks to kamikaze drones and low-cost missiles

Tokyo plans to introduce loitering munitions with a range of more than 1,000km, according to Japanese media reports citing official sources.

3 Apr 2026 - 6:00PMvideocam

Taiwan

Letters | Why KMT leader’s planned visit to mainland China is significant

Readers discuss the chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party’s trip to the mainland, and the approach to treating drug abuse in Hong Kong.

3 Apr 2026 - 11:30AM

Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, interacts with supporters in Taipei, Taiwan, November 1, 2025. Photo: Reuters

China-Middle East relations

China’s Iran war strategy, Trump’s Hormuz ask: 7 global relations reads

From a China-Israel call on Iran to an unlikely nuclear deal, here are highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents in March 2026.

2 Apr 2026 - 11:00PM

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One. Photo: AFP via Getty Images

Emmanuel Macron

Video | Macron and Takaichi do the ‘Kamehameha’

The two leaders struck a ‘Kamehameha’ pose from the popular Dragon Ball anime series.

2 Apr 2026 - 3:24PM

Japan

Japan, France to draw road map for supply of critical minerals

It aims to lower their high dependency on China, which mines about 70 per cent of the world’s supply and refines some 90 per cent.

2 Apr 2026 - 3:23PMvideocam

Japan

Businesses, smokers burnt by Japan’s record US$8 billion defence budget

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to increase defence spending to 2 per cent of Japan’s gross domestic product.

1 Apr 2026 - 11:40AM

A launcher for an upgraded Type 12 land-to-ship guided missile is displayed at the Ground Self-Defence Force’s Camp Kengun in Kumamoto prefecture. Photo: Kyodo

Japan

Japan races to limit fallout from Chinese embassy break-in

Chinese state media seized on the breach as proof of Japan’s militarism and ‘rampant far-right ideology’.

1 Apr 2026 - 10:00AM

A policeman stands guard at an entrance to the Chinese embassy in Tokyo on March 25. Photo: AFP

China-Japan relations

Japan has enough plutonium to make 5,500 nuclear warheads, PLA Daily says

China’s military mouthpiece claims Tokyo has ‘astonishing’ stockpile of nuclear materials and the tech to produce weapons.

31 Mar 2026 - 4:08PM

Japan

What Macron’s Tokyo visit means for an anxious Japan and its ties with France

Japan is enlisting French support amid a global energy shock and a diplomatic rupture with Beijing.

31 Mar 2026 - 6:51PMvideocam

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Sanae Takaichi

(高市早苗)

What does Japan’s role in a US-Philippine military drill mean for Taiwan?

Tokyo’s 1,400 combat troops mark most extensive participation yet in annual joint exercise and signal ‘priorities’ to Beijing, analysts say.

Can Japan’s US$10b energy shield oust China’s influence in Southeast Asia?

China says embassy intrusion, bomb threat are among ‘grave violations’ in Japan

Why Japan will remain the most trusted power in Asean despite military push

A survey by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute shows respondents trusted Japan more as a power than the EU, the US, China and India.

The next frontier: China maps seabed resources as Japan races to tap rare earths

Atlas charts location, concentration and distribution patterns of dozens of elements in seabed sediments.

Japan backs a female emperor while Takaichi pushes conservative succession plan

A new poll shows most Japanese support a woman taking the throne, even as the prime minister moves to preserve male-line succession.

Japan to provide US$10 billion support to help Asia secure oil

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says the support will be equivalent to as much as 1.2 billion ⁠barrels of oil.

Japan’s Narita Airport expansion revives row over forced land sales

Authorities are considering forcing the sale of land owned by holdout farmers, recalling disputes that sparked violence during the 1960s.

Should China be worried as Japan starts replacing helicopters with drones?

The move has triggered warnings that the new drones could be stationed in the Ryukyu chain close to the Chinese coast.

Japan’s Trump tariff deal faces climate backlash over projects’ 20% carbon surge

Campaigners said the three US projects could generate greenhouse gas emissions equal to about 20 per cent of Japan’s annual total.

‘Not a reliable ally’: Japan eyes Nato as Trump erodes faith in US guarantees

Tokyo and the transatlantic security alliance have a shared problem: what happens if the US walks away?

Japan’s Middle East oil habit gets an Iran war reality check

Almost all of Japan’s oil comes from the Middle East. A closed strait turned that dependence into a trap.

Japan’s Sanae Takaichi tickled pink to meet UK band Deep Purple

The Japanese prime minister, who played in a Deep Purple tribute band in middle school, called drummer Ian Paice her ‘god’.

Japanese band One OK Rock cancels Hong Kong concerts in May

Axing of shows on May 2 and 3 due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’ follows cancellation of May 9 concert in Shanghai.

PLA troops facing Taiwan Strait and Japan simulate response to nuclear attack

Eastern Theatre Command, which has several nuclear power plants within its geographic coverage, holds decontamination drill.

‘Neighbours matter’: China, Australia vow more contact amid global tension

Premier Li Qiang says ‘Beijing is willing to import more high-quality Australian products, expand and upgrade bilateral trade’.

Japan’s deportation drive strikes fear into asylum seekers, foreign residents

Rights groups warn the government’s push to remove more undocumented migrants clashes with its duty to protect refugees.

Japan’s Takaichi seeks urgent summit with Iran as Trump’s Hormuz deadline looms

Japan has been bearing the brunt of the Iran war as the resource-poor nation relies on the Middle East for most of its crude oil imports.

Why China is worried by Japan’s plans to change rules on arms sales

The government in Tokyo is considering relaxing its restrictions on exports of lethal weapons amid heightened tensions with Beijing.

With an eye on China, Japan looks to kamikaze drones and low-cost missiles

Tokyo plans to introduce loitering munitions with a range of more than 1,000km, according to Japanese media reports citing official sources.

.css-19im5qg{color:#c79a00;}Letters | Why KMT leader’s planned visit to mainland China is significant

Readers discuss the chairwoman of Taiwan’s largest opposition party’s trip to the mainland, and the approach to treating drug abuse in Hong Kong.

China’s Iran war strategy, Trump’s Hormuz ask: 7 global relations reads

From a China-Israel call on Iran to an unlikely nuclear deal, here are highlights from the SCMP’s overseas correspondents in March 2026.

.css-1t72pn8{color:#C79A00;}Video | Macron and Takaichi do the ‘Kamehameha’

The two leaders struck a ‘Kamehameha’ pose from the popular Dragon Ball anime series.

Japan, France to draw road map for supply of critical minerals

It aims to lower their high dependency on China, which mines about 70 per cent of the world’s supply and refines some 90 per cent.

Businesses, smokers burnt by Japan’s record US$8 billion defence budget

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pledged to increase defence spending to 2 per cent of Japan’s gross domestic product.

Japan races to limit fallout from Chinese embassy break-in

Chinese state media seized on the breach as proof of Japan’s militarism and ‘rampant far-right ideology’.

Japan has enough plutonium to make 5,500 nuclear warheads, PLA Daily says

China’s military mouthpiece claims Tokyo has ‘astonishing’ stockpile of nuclear materials and the tech to produce weapons.

What Macron’s Tokyo visit means for an anxious Japan and its ties with France

Japan is enlisting French support amid a global energy shock and a diplomatic rupture with Beijing.

Letters | Why KMT leader’s planned visit to mainland China is significant

Video | Macron and Takaichi do the ‘Kamehameha’