PM Takaichi’s Use of Social Media Draws Public Interest, Carries Risks

By Akira Takata / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

16:06 JST, November 30, 2025

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been actively communicating through social media. She posts daily on social media using her own words, with topics ranging from her daily life to government initiatives and diplomatic achievements. This captures the public’s interest and while her posts draw people in due to their honest and humorous content, they pose the risk of online backlash.

After the Cabinet approved a supplementary budget proposal for fiscal 2025 on Friday evening, Takaichi posted the following posts on her X account:

“We have been able to realize a proposal that gives careful consideration to ‘fiscal sustainability.’”

“We will make sure to secure the trust of the market based on the idea of ‘responsible, active fiscal policy.’”

In the posts, she emphasized that the amount of government bonds to be issued would be lower than last fiscal year. She made the posts in consideration of the markets concerned about the deterioration of public finances as the yen continues to weaken against the U.S. dollar and long-term interest rates continue to rise.

Takaichi has over 2.36 million followers on X and posts almost daily. Although her secretaries sometimes write drafts for her on policy-related content, Takaichi essentially thinks up what to write on her own, according to a source close to the prime minister.

Takaichi differs from previous prime ministers, whose social media posts were mainly about their public duties, and sometimes writes about her private life. A post on Nov. 8 said, “I couldn’t go to a hair salon. So, I cut my hair on my own, but it looks terrible. My husband is laughing at it.” The post had such an air of friendliness that it has been viewed more than 20 million times.

When it comes to diplomacy, Takaichi actively posts pictures of her interacting with foreign leaders. On Oct. 28, she posted a photo of her with U.S. President Donald Trump taken in the presidential helicopter during his visit to Japan. On Oct. 31, she posted a candid photo of her smiling with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the waiting room of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea.

She also sometimes creates posts in response to people talking about her. In one instance, her husband, Taku Yamamoto, a former member of the House of Representatives, had been awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun in this year’s autumn decorations. Takaichi posted, “Although I’ve seen some posts speculating that this is because he is the husband of the prime minister, the Cabinet decision on the decoration was made before I took office, during the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.”

However, communicating directly with the public entails risks.

On her way to a Group of 20 summit on Nov. 21, she posted, “I may have to buy clothes that me look superior in diplomatic negotiations, even if they are too expensive for me.” She made the post in response to being asked during a Diet session to “engage in diplomatic negotiations in Japan’s finest clothes.” However, her post caused controversy due her using the word “superior.”

Some officials in the Prime Minister’s Office are concerned about her use of social media, with one saying, “She needs to be more careful about her language.”