The Tamesis
February 16, 2026
London – The latest issue of the British magazine The Economist features an article about Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae titled “The most powerful woman in the world.”
Given her landslide victory in lower house elections earlier this month, the article said Takaichi “now faces a historic opportunity to change the country” and that “she must become a leader for all of Japan, not just her right-wing loyalists.”
The magazine features an illustration of Takaichi waving with Mount Fuji in the background.
The article introduced Takaichi’s measures to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities and praised her measures to revitalize the defense industry.
Illustration of Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae. Photo: The Economist’s X Account/Yomiuri Shimbun
The magazine also said Takaichi had done an “admirable job” in building a relationship with US President Donald Trump and urged her to “also recognize the vital role her country plays as a stabilizing force in a turbulent world”.
However, it warned against using her huge support to pursue narrow ideological goals and said Takaichi “needs to think about bigger, broader issues”.
