Sanae Takaichi has long been a contentious political figure in Japan, frequently crossing diplomatic red lines on issues such as Japan's wartime aggression, the "comfort women" controversy, and the Taiwan question.
In 1994, while serving as a member of the National Diet, Takaichi openly questioned then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama over his acknowledgment that Japan's past wartime aggression was a mistake. Furthermore, she has denied the historical existence of the so-called "comfort women" system.
In August 2007, Takaichi visited the Yasukuni Shrine—a site that honors Japan's war dead, including convicted war criminals—and has since become a regular visitor.
In 2014, she attracted further controversy after being photographed alongside Kazunari Yamada, the leader of the neo-Nazi group "National Socialist Japanese Workers' Party."
Regarding Japan's domestic policies, Sanae Takaichi has demanded the abolition of the clause renouncing war in the Peace Constitution and the renaming of the Self-Defense Forces as the National Defense Forces.
On foreign policy, Takaichi has repeatedly asserted that a contingency involving Taiwan could constitute a "situation threatening Japan's survival."
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