Takaichi apologizes over Yana exit as makeup remarks spark gender debate
Japan's prime minister Sanae Takaichi told the Senate on Friday, 16 October, that she regrets appointing former agriculture minister Kazuo Yana. Her separate remarks that makeup and chores add hours to her workday have set off a debate on gender roles.
Apology over the resigned minister
On Friday, 16 October, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told the Budget Committee of the Senate, the upper chamber of parliament, that she regretted appointing former agriculture minister Kazuo Yana. Yana resigned on Wednesday, 14 October, after a string of scandals, one of them tied to budget cuts for municipalities whose mayors did not back him in a general election. Takaichi said she had urged him to explain his conduct and denied that she was shielding him.
- Takaichi misses the online Group of Seven summit
- Yana resigns as agriculture minister, and Takaichi makes her makeup and chores remarks in parliament
- Takaichi apologizes to the Senate Budget Committee over Yana's resignation
Takaichi pledged to restore public trust in her government.
My cabinet will work as one to find solutions to each and every key issue.
Opposition charge and the G7 absence
Kiyomi Tsujimoto of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan said Takaichi's lack of decisiveness had been exposed, accusing her of putting self-preservation ahead of decisive action. Takaichi rejected the charge and said she had no intention of protecting herself. On the alleged election law violations by Yana, she said the relevant authorities should judge based on the facts and that she could not reach a preconceived verdict on his conduct. Asked why she skipped the 2 October online summit of the Group of Seven democracies, Takaichi said the meeting time was fixed only shortly before it began, leaving too little time to prepare, including setting up video conferencing equipment. She added that the talks focused on responses to fuel prices in Europe and the United States, and that a proxy representative had been permitted to attend in her place.
Potato imports and the new farm minister
Arata Takebe made his first appearance at the Budget Committee since becoming agriculture minister, speaking on Friday, 16 October. He said imports of fresh potatoes from the United States would not be approved "unless a mutually acceptable agreement is reached". He added that he would handle the matter carefully and with a firm attitude. Takebe's remarks came in the same session in which Takaichi defended her handling of Yana's scandals.
Makeup, chores and the gender debate
On Wednesday, 14 October, Takaichi told parliament that her routine of bathing, making breakfast, washing up and applying makeup added three or four more hours to her day than a male prime minister's.
In the morning, I take a bath, fix breakfast and do the dishes, then apply makeup.
She also said her aides had been slow to grasp why she needed extra time to get ready before going on camera. Critics said the remarks endorsed old-fashioned gender roles and excessive working hours. The latest government figures show that women spend nearly five hours a day on housework, against about 40 minutes for an average man. Some supporters praised her for drawing attention to the extra effort women put into work and running their households, while a conservative writer, Kotoe Hashimoto, asked on X whether critics wanted her to appear at the Diet barefaced. A think tank, NXJI Research, proposed hiring cooks and other domestic staff for the prime minister's official residence. Fusako Miwa, a lawyer, said on social media that she accepted the extra time but not the excuse of makeup.
As long as she gets her job done, it's fine if she needs more time than men.
