From Sirimavo to Sanae: The Iron Ladies Who Redefined Power

Japan’s ruling party has just elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader, placing the 64-year-old on the threshold of history as Japan’s first female Prime Minister. The move has set off a wave of fascination across Asia, recalling an earlier era when another woman shocked the world by taking the reins of power — Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka.

In 1960, Sirimavo became the world’s first woman Prime Minister. Her soft-spoken style concealed a firm will: she nationalised industries, steered through domestic upheavals, and balanced the pressures of the Cold War with quiet skill. She led with the instinct of a mother and the calculation of a strategist, showing that leadership could wear a sari and still command a cabinet.

Two decades later, Margaret Thatcher emerged in Britain with an entirely different energy — the Iron Lady who ruled through conviction, not consensus. Where Sirimavo soothed, Thatcher confronted. She reshaped Britain’s economy and global posture, proving that firmness and femininity could coexist in one political figure. Thatcher’s unyielding style would later inspire women leaders far beyond Europe.

Sanae Takaichi openly names Thatcher as her model. A long-time conservative and disciple of the late Shinzo Abe, she has promised to revive his economic vision known as Abenomics while pushing for constitutional change to expand Japan’s military role. She has also drawn controversy for visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals, are honoured.

Takaichi’s challenge is immense. She inherits a party weakened by scandal and election losses, an economy weighed down by inflation, and a society uneasy about its direction. She faces the delicate task of managing relations with Washington and reviving public faith in the Liberal Democratic Party.

Her victory is historic, but also complicated. Many women do not see her as a feminist champion: she opposes same-sex marriage and has resisted legislation allowing women to keep their maiden names after marriage. Her vision of leadership is conservative, disciplined, rooted in traditional notions of nation and family.

From Colombo to London to Tokyo, the idea of a woman at the helm has always carried both symbolism and scrutiny. Sirimavo Bandaranaike governed with grace; Margaret Thatcher with iron; Sanae Takaichi promises to lead with resolve shaped by both. Whether Japan’s newest leader becomes a figure of transformation or of continuity remains to be seen — but she has already written herself into the long, contested story of women who rule.