Japan's first female governing-party leader is an ultra-conservative star in a male-dominated group

TOKYO (AP) — In a country that ranks poorly internationally for gender equality, the new president of Japan's long-governing Liberal Democrats, and likely next prime minister, is an ultra-conservative star of a male-dominated party that critics call an obstacle to women's advancement.

Sanae Takaichi, 64. admires former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and is a proponent of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's conservative vision for Japan.

Takaichi is the first female president of Japan's predominantly male ruling party that has dominated Japan's postwar politics almost without interruption.

She hardly touched on gender issues during the campaign, but on Saturday, as she tried out the party president's chair and posed for a photo as is customary for the newly elected leader, Takaichi said: ”Now that the LDP has its first female president, its scenery will change a little."

First elected to parliament from her hometown of Nara in 1993, she has served in key party and government posts, including minister of economic security, internal affairs and gender equality.

Female lawmakers in the conservative Liberal Democratic Party who were given limited ministerial posts have often been shunned as soon as they spoke up about diversity and gender equality. Takaichi has stuck with old-fashioned views favored by male party heavyweights.

Takaichi also admits she is a workaholic who would rather study at home instead of socializing. After unsuccessfully running for party presidency twice in the past, she made efforts to be more sociable to build connections as advised, she said.

But on Saturday, as she called for an all-out effort to rebuild the party and regain public support, she asked all party lawmakers to “work like a horse.” Then she added, “I will abandon the word ‘work-life balance.’ I will work, work, work and work."

The “work-life balance” quickly trended on social media, triggering mixed reactions — support for her enthusiasm and concern about her work ethic.

Women comprise only about 15% of Japan’s lower house, the more powerful of the two parliamentary chambers. Only two of Japan’s 47 prefectural governors are women.

A drummer in a heavy-metal band and a motorbike rider as a student, Takaichi has called for a stronger military, more fiscal spending for growth, promotion of nuclear fusion, cybersecurity and tougher policies on immigration.

She vowed to drastically increase female ministers in her government. But experts say she might actually set back women’s advancement because as leader she would have to show loyalty to influential male heavyweights. If not, she risks a short-lived leadership.

Takaichi has backed financial support for women's health and fertility treatment as part of the LDP policy of having women serve in their traditional roles of being good mothers and wives. But she also recently acknowledged her struggles with menopausal symptoms and stressed the need to educate men about female health to help women at school and work.

Takaichi supports the imperial family’s male-only succession, opposes same-sex marriage and a revision to the 19th-century civil law that would allow separate surnames for married couples so that women don’t get pressured into abandoning theirs.

She is a wartime history revisionist and China hawk. She regularly visits Yasukuni Shrine, which Japan’s neighbors consider a symbol of militarism, though she has declined to say what she would do as prime minister.

Political watchers say her revisionist views of Japan’s wartime history may complicate ties with Beijing and Seoul.

Her hawkish stance is also a worry for the LDP’s longtime partnership with Komeito, a Buddhist-backed moderate party. While she has said the current coalition is crucial for her party, she says she is open to working with far-right groups.

Former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, center, stands as Takaichi was chosen to a new leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party during the party's leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

Sanae Takaichi, the newly-elected leader of Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), attends a press conference after the LDP presidential election in Tokyo Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Yuichi Yamazaki/Pool Photo via AP)

FILE - Newly-appointed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, front row third from right, poses with his Cabinet members after an attestation ceremony for his Cabinet at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, on Sept. 26, 2006. Front row from left: Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Bunmei Ibuki, Environment Minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi, Foreign Minister Taro Aso, Abe, Defense Agency Director General Fumio Kyuma and Finance Minister Koji Omi. Second row from left: Justice Minister Jinen Nagase, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshihide Suga, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba and Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry Akira Amari and Economy and Banking Minister Hiroko Ota. Third row from left: Okinawa and Northern Territories, Innovation, Gender Equality and Food Safety Minister Sanae Takaichi, National Public Safety Commission Chairman Kensei Mizote, Administrative Reforms Minister Genichiro Sata, unidentified, unidentified, Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Yuji Yamamoto, unidentified and Chief Cabinet Secretary, also in charge of resolving North Korea's abductions of Japanese citizens Yasuhisa Shiozaki. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye, File)

FILE - Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, on Sept. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - Japanese lawmakers, including Sanae Takaichi, center left, visit the Yasukuni Shrine to pay respect to the war dead on the day of the 69th anniversary of the end of the World War II, in Tokyo, on Aug. 15, 2014. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

FILE - Sanae Takaichi, newly appointed Internal Affairs and Communications minister, enters the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

Former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, center left, bows as Takaichi was chosen to a new leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party during the party's leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

Former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, center, stands as Takaichi was chosen to a new leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party during the party's leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Yohei Fukai/Kyodo News via AP)

Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Sanae Takaichi, right, shakes hands with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election i in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool Photo via AP)

Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Sanae Takaichi, center right, celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Pool Photo via AP)

Former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) leadership election in Tokyo, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Konnor Griffin endured plenty of emotions when the 19-year-old shortstop learned the Pittsburgh Pirates were calling him up to the majors just a week into the season.

Shock was not one of them.

“I'm ready for this,” Griffin said Friday, just hours before making his major league debut against Baltimore at PNC Park.

He certainly looked ready, delivering an RBI double off Baltimore's Kyle Bradish in his first at-bat to help the Pirates to a 5-4 victory.

The Pirates are betting more big moments are on the way after making Griffin the first position player to arrive in the majors before his 20th birthday since Juan Soto did it with Washington in 2018.

Just 628 days after Pittsburgh selected him with the ninth pick in the 2024 amateur draft, the athletic and mustachioed 6-foot-3 Griffin found a No. 6 jersey hanging in his locker at PNC Park and his name penciled in the seventh spot in the lineup against the Orioles.

On the surface, it seems fast. The reality is that Griffin checked every box — and checked every box quickly — while sprinting through the Pirates' system. The final steps came over the last week when he hit .438 in a handful of games for Triple-A Indianapolis.

Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly felt Griffin was “pressing” near the end of spring training, when he smashed three homers but also hit just .171. The club made Griffin one of the last cuts before the opening-day roster was set. Yet rather than sulk, he headed to Triple-A, made a couple of adjustments, and saw immediate results.

“He just went right down and hit his stride and was able to reset in a couple of days,” Kelly said. “Which again, for anybody, is really impressive, especially for a 19-year-old kid whose hopes and dreams were to make the big leagues.”

That doesn't make Griffin unlike the millions of kids who pick up a bat when they're in elementary school. It's everything that has come after it, however, that has set Griffin apart. He raced through the lower levels of the minors last year, hitting 21 homers, driving in 94 runs, and stealing 65 bases while showcasing the range to play one of the game's most demanding defensive positions.

Yet it's not just the tangible on-field things that won the organization over. Griffin has long carried himself with the maturity of someone far older. He married his high school sweetheart, Dendy, over the winter. And she was the first one he told after Indianapolis manager Eric Patterson called Griffin to his hotel room in Columbus early Thursday to tell him he was heading to The Show.

The next 24 hours were a blur. From the short drive from Columbus to Pittsburgh to the scramble for the Mississippi native's family to make it to the ballpark that's tucked hard against the Allegheny River in time for Friday's first pitch.

Finally, just after noon, Griffin was able to relax. He trotted out to shortstop and took grounders, his frame and arm making him look very much the part of the role he's been preparing for since he was 5.

Griffin's skillset has drawn comparisons to the likes of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., heady territory for someone less than two years removed from his high school graduation. Still, he's not getting ahead of himself.

“Today is the first day of carving out a legacy that I want to build,” he said. "And I’m ready to do that and try to be right up there with those top guys.”

Griffin is the latest in a string of high-profile arrivals in Pittsburgh, from reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes to rookie right-hander Bubba Chandler to catcher Henry Davis.

The future that's been talked about since general manager Ben Cherington was hired in late 2019 is finally arriving. And perhaps it's telling of how far the club has come that Griffin is joining a roster that has undergone a significant upgrade in recent months with the additions of All-Star second baseman Brandon Lowe, All-Star first baseman/outfielder Ryan O'Hearn and veteran designated hitter Marcell Ozuna.

“This team is loaded,” Griffin said. “I get to come in here and just be a piece of this puzzle.”

Perhaps a very big piece. For a very long time. The Pirates and Griffin have engaged in talks about a contract extension that would lock him up for most of the next decade.

Griffin demurred when asked about it on Friday, though he made his intentions very clear.

“All I’m going to say is, I want to be a Pirate for a long time,” he said. "This is a special place and I’m thankful to be here.”

Perhaps most importantly because it means he can shed the “top prospect” label and stop focusing so much on his individual development and instead turn his attention to helping the Pirates make a playoff push for the first time since the mid-2010s.

“Now it’s time to take all the skills that I’ve learned,” he said, "all the adjustments I’ve made. It’s time to go put them on the field and go win some games.”

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Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin celebrates after hitting an RBI double, his first Major League career hit and run, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin (6) is introduced for his major league debut before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin sprints for home to score a run during the second inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin hits an RBI double, his first Major League career hit and run, during the second inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Pittsburgh, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin, right, follows manager Don Kelly, center, and owner Bob Nutting into a meeting with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin meets with reporters before making his Major League Baseball debut in the Pirates' home-opener against the Baltimore Orioles, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)