Deep Dish on Global Affairs · The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Is Japan Entering a New Political Era?

February 26, 2026·34 min·2 clips

Takayichi's Trump alignment is seen as cringeworthy by some Japanese viewers.

1. Deep Dish on Global Affairs looks at Japan's political moment around Sanai Takayichi, the country's first female prime minister. 2. Leslie Vincimori hosts Takako Hikotani, a University of Tokyo professor on Japan and international relations, and Noah Snyder of The Economist, who reports from Tokyo. 3. The episode asks whether Takayichi's rise signals a new style of leadership, a security reset, or a broader regional shift. 4. Hikotani says Takayichi stands out because she is not from a political family and worked her way up through different parties. 5. Snyder links her popularity to the LDP's long record of scandals, opaque fundraising, and a public desire for a break with old politics. 6. Takayichi's blunt speaking style is contrasted with the cautious, bureaucratic language often associated with Japanese leaders. 7. Her security message centers on building out Japan's defenses and moving faster as the world becomes more dangerous. 8. Hikotani says younger voters responded more to decisiveness than older patterns of party loyalty. 9. The opposition's pacifist appeal is described as ineffective because many voters no longer think pacifism alone guarantees safety. 10. Donald Trump is described as part of the supporting cast because Japanese leaders want to keep the United States anchored in Asia. 11. Snyder says Japan has no collective security system, no other nuclear powers, and no coalition of economies that can match China. 12. He argues that Japan's best option is to keep America committed long enough to build up its own defenses. 13. The episode details Takayichi's effort to manage Trump through a planned March 19 visit and a $550 billion investment package. 14. Specific U.S. projects mentioned include gas-fired power generation in Ohio, a deepwater crude oil export facility in Texas, and industrial synthetic diamond manufacturing in Georgia. 15. Snyder says Japan learned from the 2010s Senkaku Islands clash that China can use rare-earth restrictions as leverage. 16. Japan reduced dependency on Chinese critical minerals from about 90% to around 60%, but not to independence. 17. Hikotani and Snyder both describe Japan-South Korea cooperation as strategically useful because both governments want the U.S. to stay in the region. 18. Snyder warns that Takayichi's conservative history and visits to Yasukuni Shrine could still complicate relations with Seoul. 19. The conversation is analytical and interview-based, with long answers, policy details, and frequent comparisons across Japan, the U.S., China, and South Korea. 20. Listeners interested in Japan's security choices and Indo-Pacific politics will get the most from it, while casual politics listeners may skip the dense policy detail.

As heard by us

A measured look at Japan's shifting politics and the regional stakes around them.

Japan's current political moment gives the discussion its pull: the country's first female prime minister, a sweeping Liberal Democratic Party win, and a public mood that stays upbeat even as defense, constitutional change, and the Indo-Pacific remain unsettled.

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Why you'd press play

When you want Japan's political shift explained without the usual noise.

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