Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has been appointed as Japan's 104th prime minister, has become the first woman to hold the office in the nation's constitutional history, Yomiuri Shimbun reported Tuesday.

A long-time admirer of Margaret Thatcher, the United Kingdom’s first female prime minister known as the “Iron Lady,” Takaichi is seen as having broken the so-called “glass ceiling,” often described as an obstacle to women’s advancement in society.

After being designated as prime minister by the Diet (Japan’s parliament), Liberal Democratic Party President Takaichi entered the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday.

Takaichi first entered the LDP presidential race in 2021, and on her third attempt finally secured the party’s top post.

Previous female contenders for the LDP leadership—Yuriko Koike, then environment minister (now Tokyo governor) in 2008; Seiko Noda, former internal affairs and communications minister, in 2021; and Yoko Kamikawa, former justice minister, in 2024—all fell short.

With her appointment, Japan becomes the fifth among the Group of Seven (G7) nations to see a woman lead its government, following the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and Italy.

Ahead of the latest leadership contest, Takaichi stated, “It’s not because I’m a woman; it’s about equal opportunity. Men and women alike must bring together their full strengths.”

Her husband, Taku Yamamoto, a former LDP member of the House of Representatives, assumes the role of Japan’s first “first gentleman.”