“ABENOMICS” ADVOCATE MAY CAUSE SHOCKWAVES
Takaichi, 64, who narrowly lost in a run-off to lead the LDP last year, must also prepare to host United States President Donald Trump who is due to visit Japan next week.
A former economic security and interior minister, Takaichi has repeatedly referred to Thatcher as a source of inspiration, citing her strong character and convictions coupled with her “womanly warmth”.
She said she met the conservative Thatcher, a divisive figure in British politics known as “the Iron Lady”, at a symposium shortly before Thatcher’s death in 2013.
Like Thatcher, Takaichi’s relatively humble background – her mother was a police officer and her father worked at a car company – stands out in a party where many leaders hail from elite political families.
But unlike Thatcher – known for her tough budgeting – Takaichi is an advocate of fiscal largesse and easy monetary policies that have shaken investor confidence in the world’s fourth-largest economy.
A long-time advocate of the late prime minister Shinzo Abe’s “Abenomics” stimulus policies, she has called for higher spending and tax cuts and pledged to reassert government sway over the Bank of Japan.
Source: CNA
