Sanae Takaichi, a veteran conservative lawmaker in Japan who cites Margaret Thatcher as an influence, won election as prime minister on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to do so in the nation’s history.

日本资深保守派议员高市早苗于周二当选为首相，成为该国历史上首位女性首相。她曾表示深受撒切尔夫人影响。

While she has broken a gender barrier in politics, Ms. Takaichi’s own views on women’s rights are complicated, and she has been criticized by some for not doing enough to promote gender equality.

虽然打破了政治领域的性别壁垒，但高市早苗对女性权利的立场较为复杂，并因在促进性别平等方面做得不够而遭到批评。

Her rise reflects an eagerness for change by the governing Liberal Democratic Party, which she leads, after electoral defeats over the past year — as well as the party’s attempt to respond to the growing strength of right-wing groups in Japan.

她的崛起反映了她所领导的执政党自由民主党在过去一年遭遇选举失利后对变革的迫切渴望，同时也体现了该党试图应对日本右翼势力日益壮大的努力。

What is Ms. Takaichi’s background?

高市早苗的背景如何？

Ms. Takaichi, 64, grew up in Nara Prefecture in central Japan. She is an unusual figure in high-level Japanese politics because she does not come from a prominent political family. Her mother worked for the local police department, and her father worked for a car parts maker. She was first elected to Parliament in 1993.

现年64岁的高市早苗在日本中部的奈良县长大。她在日本高层政治中显得不同寻常，因为她并非出身于显赫的政治世家。她的母亲曾在当地警察局工作，父亲则在一家汽车零部件制造厂任职。她于1993年首次当选为议员。

She attended Kobe University, where she played drums and drove a motorcycle. After graduation, she spent time in the United States, interning with Representative Patricia Schroeder of Colorado, a Democrat.

她曾就读神户大学，在校期间的兴趣是打鼓和骑摩托车。毕业后，她曾赴美国，在科罗拉多州民主党众议员帕特里夏·施罗德的办公室实习。

How did she rise in politics?

她是如何在政坛崛起的？

In the 2000s, Ms. Takaichi became an ally of Shinzo Abe, who went on to become a long-serving prime minister. He was assassinated in 2022 after he had stepped down. Like Mr. Abe, she supported amending the pacifist Constitution, a contentious position in a country wary of military aggression.

在2000年代，高市早苗成为了后来长期担任首相的安倍晋三的盟友，后者在卸任后于2022年被刺杀。与安倍一样，她支持修改和平宪法，这在对军事侵略持谨慎态度的日本是一个颇具争议的立场。

2006年，日本首相安倍晋三（前排右三）与内阁大臣们合影。高市早苗（后排左侧）是当时仅有的两位女性大臣之一。

Ms. Takaichi is one of a small number of women to reach the highest levels of government in Japan. She has served stints as a government minister, overseeing economic security, internal affairs and communications, and she ran to lead the Liberal Democratic Party in 2021 and 2024.

高市早苗是少数晋升至日本政府高层的女性之一。她曾担任过多个政府部长职务，主管经济安全、内政和通信等领域，并曾于2021年和2024年竞选自由民主党总裁。

Earlier this month, she beat out four men to be elected president of the L.D.P. On Tuesday, she became prime minister after a vote during an extraordinary session of Parliament.

本月早些时候，她击败了四位男性，成功当选自民党总裁。周二，在国会特别会议上的投票中，她正式成为首相。

What policies is she known for?

她以哪些政策为人所知？

Ms. Takaichi has been a prominent critic of China’s efforts to expand military and economic influence, and she has called for Japan to do more to strengthen its defense capabilities. She has also been a staunch supporter of a return to “Abenomics” — a platform of low interest rates coupled with broad government spending.

高市早苗一直是中国扩展军事和经济影响力行动的主要批评者，她呼吁日本加强防卫能力。她也是“安倍经济学”的坚定支持者，主张低利率配合大规模政府支出。

During the campaign, she seized on a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment. She said that Japan should create a “command center” to oversee issues related to foreigners. And she blamed tourists for kicking the cherished deer in Nara, where she is from, and doing pull-ups on gates outside sacred shrines.

竞选期间，她抓住了反移民情绪的浪潮，提出日本应设立“指挥中心”来统筹管理与外国人相关的问题。她还指责游客在她的家乡奈良踢踹备受珍视的鹿，以及在神社外的门上做引体向上的。

Like Mr. Abe and other conservatives, Ms. Takaichi has argued that Japanese atrocities during World War II have been overstated. She regularly visits Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial in Tokyo honoring Japan’s war dead — including Class A war criminals from World War II — that is a flashpoint for historical sensitivities in China and South Korea.

和安倍晋三及其他保守派一样，高市早苗认为“二战”期间日本的暴行被夸大了。她经常参拜靖国神社——这座位于东京的神社缅怀日本战亡者，其中包括二战甲级战犯，因此成为日本与中韩两国历史敏感问题的焦点。

今年3月，游客参观位于东京的靖国神社。高市早苗经常参拜该神社，并曾表示日本在“二战”期间的暴行被夸大了。

After she won election as the L.D.P.’s leader, Ms. Takaichi called the shrine a “facility to console the war dead and a shrine of peace.” She did not address whether she would continue to visit it.

在当选自民党总裁后，高市称靖国神社是“安慰战亡者的场所，是和平的神社”。她并未说明是否会继续参拜该神社。

What are her views on women’s rights?

她对女性权利的立场是什么？

Ms. Takaichi has been accused of embracing policies that feminists say diminish women’s rights. For example, she opposed changing a longstanding law that requires married couples to share a surname. But she has also sought to expand health care for women, and she has promised to appoint a large share of women to her cabinet. Under her predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, there were only two women in the 20-person cabinet. Women now make up about a fifth of Parliament.

高市早苗被指支持一些被女权主义者认为削弱女性权利的政策。例如，她反对修改一项要求已婚夫妻必须使用同一姓氏的长期法律。但她也致力于扩大女性的医疗保障，并承诺在内阁中任命更多女性成员。在她的前任石破茂领导下，20人内阁中仅有两名女性。目前日本议会成员中五分之一是女性。

Ms. Takaichi has often cited Ms. Thatcher, the former British prime minister, as a role model. She once called a memoir by Ms. Thatcher, “My treasure.”

高市早苗经常将前英国首相撒切尔夫人视为榜样，曾称其回忆录为“我的宝藏”。

What challenges does she face?

她面临着哪些挑战？

Ms. Takaichi must revive the fortunes of the L.D.P., which has led government for almost all of the past 70 years, but suffered recent electoral losses that made it a minority in both houses of Parliament.

高市早苗必须振兴自由民主党的声势。该党在过去70年几乎一直执政，但近期的选举失利使其在国会两院均成为少数派。

That also means that Ms. Takaichi needs support from other groups to push through her agenda.After Ms. Takaichi’s victory in the L.D.P.’s leadership election, the party lost its main coalition partner of the past 26 years, Komeito, a centrist party, which had expressed reservations about her right-wing views. To secure the votes needed to be elected prime minister, Ms. Takaichi formed an alliance with a center-right group instead: the Japan Innovation Party.

这也意味着她需要获得其他政治团体的支持以推动她的政策议程。高市早苗当选总裁后，自民党失去了其26年来的主要联盟伙伴——中间派的公明党，后者对她的右翼立场持保留态度。为了获得成为首相所需的选票，高市转而与中间偏右的日本维新会结盟。

2023年，高市早苗在东京的国会上议院预算委员会会议上发言。

In office, Ms. Takaichi is expected to try to address issues like rising food prices, stagnant wages, China’s military buildup in the South China Sea and the pressures created by Japan’s aging population.

执政期间，预计高市早苗将着力解决食品价格上涨、工资增长停滞、中国在南海的军事扩张，以及日本人口老龄化带来的压力等问题。

She will also need to build a relationship with President Trump, who is expected to visit Japan next week, during a trip to Asia. Japan and the United States are still working out details of a trade agreement.

她还需要与预计将于下周访日的特朗普总统建立良好关系，此次访问是特朗普亚洲行的一部分。日本和美国仍在协商一项贸易协议的具体细节。

Ms. Takaichi has promised to work on behalf of the Japanese public.

高市早苗承诺将为日本民众努力工作。

“I’ll give up work-life balance,” she said. “I’ll be humble.”

“我会放弃工作与生活的平衡，”她表示，“我会保持谦逊。”