Japan at a crossroads

Unpopular move? Protesters hold placards and lights during a rally against Takaichi’s administration for its military expansion policies in front of the parliament building in Tokyo last month. — Reuters

LAST October Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female leader of both the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the government.

The “liberal” in the LDP actually means conservative. Takaichi herself belongs to the hardline rightwing Nippon Kaigi faction of the party.