With Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi taking office, expectations are high — and so are the challenges. Inflation, stagnant wages, and the ballooning cost of welfare form an intricate web that no administration can solve overnight.
Takaichi is expected to emphasize fiscal discipline while maintaining targeted support for low-income households. She has also hinted at boosting domestic production to reduce reliance on imports, which could help stabilize prices. On the welfare front, reforms may aim to improve efficiency — for instance, through better digitalization of healthcare records and stricter control over redundant subsidies.
Yet the political test will be balance. If she cuts spending too aggressively, public backlash could be fierce. If she does too little, Japan risks sinking deeper into structural stagnation. Her success may depend less on ideology and more on careful, data-driven pragmatism — something Japan desperately needs right now.