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  • WORLD VIEW

Japan’s first female prime minister doesn’t call herself a feminist — but the country needs her to tackle sexism in science

Sanae Takaichi has pledged to make the country ‘strong and prosperous’ again; success hinges on breaking barriers for women in science.
By
  1. Misa Shimuta

    1. Misa Shimuta is a neuroscientist at the Department of Neuroscience, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.

Japan struggles with gender equity. It ranked 118th out of 148 countries in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index. Against this backdrop, the election of a woman, Sanae Takaichi, as Japan’s prime minister on 21 October is a milestone.

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Nature 647, 9 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-03569-5

Competing Interests

I have unpaid roles in gender-equality-related organizations, including the Japan Inter-Society Liaison Association Committee for Promoting Equal Participation of Men and Women in Science and Engineering (EPMEWSE).

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