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Introduction
After becoming Prime Minister of Japan in October 2025, Sanae Takaichi, a protégé of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, has introduced far-reaching changes in domestic policies such as relaxation of arms exports, including lethal ones, as well as indulging in a diplomatic overdrive, sending a strong message to the world that Japan is no longer willing to lying low but would be an active participant in global affairs. Considered as a China hawk, Takaichi’s remarks on 7 November 2025 when she suggested that close US…