Japan's Sanae Takaichi: Iron Lady 2.0 seeking election boost

Tokyo: Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who admires Margaret Thatcher, became Japan s first woman prime minister in October, though she has show...

Tokyo: Sanae Takaichi, a staunch conservative who admires Margaret Thatcher, became Japan's first woman prime minister in October, though she has shown little appetite for framing her leadership around gender.

Instead, it is her hardline stance on China, flair for showmanship and workaholic reputation that have shaped her fledgling premiership.

Riding high in the polls, the 64-year-old announced on Monday she will call a snap election for February 8, hoping for a stronger mandate to push through her ambitious policy agenda.

After winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership, Takaichi -- a hawk on defence and economic security -- became Japan's fifth leader in as many years.

She inherited a struggling LDP deserted en masse by voters because of inflation, a recent slush fund scandal and the advent of the populist, anti-immigration Sanseito party.