Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi Is ‘World’s Most Powerful Woman,’ The Economist Says

By Yuya Yokobori / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

14:13 JST, February 15, 2026

LONDON — The latest issue of the British magazine The Economist features an article on Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi titled, “The world’s most powerful woman.”

In light of her landslide victory in the House of Representatives election earlier this month, the article said that Takaichi “now has a historic chance to transform her country,” and that “she must be a leader for all of Japan, not only for her right-wing loyalists.”

The magazine features an illustration of Takaichi waving with Mt. Fuji in the background.

The article describes Takaichi’s moves to strengthen Japan’s defense capabilities and praises her measures to revitalize the defense industry.

The magazine also said Takaichi did an “admirable job” regarding the relationship she has built with U.S. President Donald Trump and urged her to “also recognise that her country has a crucial role to play as a stabilising force in a turbulent world.”

However, it warned against using her vast support to pursue narrow ideological goals, and said, Takaichi “needs to think bigger and broader.”