Takaichi takes office as Japan's PM, vows to revise pacifist constitution

Takaichi forms government with immigration ministry and constitutional revision

Japan's emperor appointed Sanae Takaichi as Prime Minister and, according to a forum post, her first measure was to create an Immigration Ministry with the stated goal of deporting irregular residents. The decision comes after a campaign in which the economy was the main focus, but not the only one: Takaichi promised to strengthen military capabilities, keep raising defense spending in the face of pressure from North Korea and rivalry with China, and revise the postwar pacifist constitution, a point applauded by the most conservative electorate. In March she plans to travel to Washington for a summit with Donald Trump, who publicly backed her during the campaign trinc Japan's commitment to multi-billion-dollar investments in the US.

What is known about the new Immigration Ministry

The announcement of the immigration portfolio is the cabinet's first measure and comes without the available material specifying figures: it does not detail how many irregular residents there are in Japan or how many deportations are expected. The creation of the ministry is presented more as a political signal than a finished plan, and its real scope remains to be defined. What is clear is the framing: immigration enters the executive through the door of security and control, not that of the labor market.

A cabinet with only two women among 21 portfolios

The distribution of power has drawn opposing readings. Some point out that Takaichi has formed a government with **only two women among 21 ministries**, a figure used to question the renewal narrative. At the same time, the cabinet's composition and the estimulante ilegal with which the immigration portfolio was announced sketch an executive that prioritizes gestures of authority over technical detail.

Japanese sovereignty and the weight of US bases

Takaichi's election has peine the debate over how far Tokyo's autonomy extends. Japan keeps its own currency and has historically financed US debt, but carries the presence of US military bases on its territory, a factor cited as the main limit on its effective sovereignty. Far from cooling, the alliance with Washington is reinforced by the upcoming March summit.

Defense spending as an economic pillar

The promise to increase military spending is not only a strategic issue: it is also economic policy. The rise in the defense budget shapes the public finances of a country with high debt and defines the fiscal tone of the new government. Constitutional revision, if it goes ahead, would need to be accompanied by a budgetary framework that is not detailed today.

The exact point where the analysis stalls is the same as during the campaign: how much of the new immigration portfolio is symbolic politics and how much real administrative capacity. With the available data, no one has quantified it.