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Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has declared combined assets of about ¥32.1 million ($220,000) with her husband, placing her among the less wealthy members of Japan’s cabinet.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, whose Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has secured a historic more than two-thirds majority in Japan’s powerful lower house, has disclosed relatively modest personal wealth.
According to official disclosures cited by Nippon.com, Takaichi and her husband, former lawmaker Taku Yamamoto, reported combined assets of about ¥32.1 million (around $220,000) as of December 2025, ranking her 10th among cabinet ministers in terms of declared wealth.
Takaichi’s assets include ¥11.4 million in real estate in Nara Prefecture, while Yamamoto holds real estate valued at ¥10.6 million and bank deposits of about ¥10 million. Takaichi also owns two vehicles.
Personal life
Taku Yamamoto, whom she first wed in 2004, divorced in 2017, and remarried in 2021. The couple have no children together, though Takaichi adopted Yamamoto’s children from his previous marriage and has grandchildren. Yamamoto suffered a cerebral infarction in 2025, leaving him partially paralysed, with Takaichi now acting as his caregiver.
Landslide victory
The asset disclosure comes days after Takaichi consolidated her grip on power following a historic snap election victory. Public broadcaster NHK reported that the LDP alone won 316 seats in the 465-member House of Representatives, comfortably surpassing the 261-seat absolute majority threshold.
The outcome marks the party’s largest seat haul since its founding in 1955, eclipsing the previous record of 300 seats achieved under former prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1986. While the ruling bloc does not command a majority in the upper house, the scale of the lower-house victory gives Takaichi substantial legislative room until the next election cycle in 2028.
Public image and personal story
Takaichi has cultivated a reputation as a hard-line conservative with a populist edge, resonating strongly with younger voters. Her rise has also renewed interest in her personal journey.
Born in Yamatokōriyama, Nara Prefecture, to a middle-class, dual-income family, she worked her way through university, played drums in a heavy metal band in her youth, and later built a career as a television broadcaster and author before entering politics.
Early life and education
Takaichi’s father worked for an automotive firm linked to Toyota, while her mother served in the Nara Prefectural Police. Despite qualifying for elite private universities such as Keio and Waseda, she opted for Kobe University, commuting long hours from home and supporting herself through part-time work. She graduated with a business administration degree in 1984 and later enrolled at the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management.
Entry into politics
Takaichi entered national politics as an independent in the 1993 general election, joining the LDP in 1996. A close protégé of former prime minister Shinzo Abe, she steadily rose through party ranks, serving in economic and technology portfolios and later as Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, where she became known for her tough stance on media regulation and governance reform.
She emerged as a central figure in Abe-era conservatism, openly backing constitutional revision, a stronger military posture, and a revisionist view of Japan’s wartime history.
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