Japan has a long list of problems: sluggish growth, public debt that is the largest in the world, and a working population that is both ageing and shrinking. Takaichi, some observers believe, has the chance to change this, reshaping how Japan runs what is the world's fourth-largest economy - and how the markets see it. She will steer Japan in the right direction, says Tomohiko Taniguchi, a policy adviser and former speechwriter for late prime minister Shinzo Abe.
"If successful, it will serve as a premier case study for ageing societies worldwide."