New Delhi, Nov. 19 -- In a country known for electing prime ministers who are mostly reticent on the global stage, Sanae Takaichi represents a distinct break from the past, and not only because she is the first woman prime minister in Japan's history. She was born in a conservative working class family that had initially resisted her desire to enrol in university. Happily, she did go to university and become a news presenter before she became a politician.

Perhaps because of that television career, Takaichi has a gift for dominating the news. In a campaign speech, she once complained about foreign tourists and criticized them for kicking deer in her hometown of Nara. Last week, urged by an opposition lawmaker to take back the statement l...