(ECNS) -- Japan's new prime minister Sanae Takaichi has quickly drawn international scrutiny. Her recent remarks on Taiwan question are the latest episode prompting questions about the political instincts of a leader long associated with Japan's right-wing fringes.
But observers pointed out that this is not Takaichi's isolated misstep. Early in her political career, Takaichi was found connected to episodes within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that critics say appeared to soften, or even sanitize aspects of Nazi history.
Takaichi has consistently rejected such interpretations, yet these episodes continue to cast a shadow over her premiership.
A disputed preface
One of the earliest and most frequently cited controversies involves the 1994 publication Hitler's Election Strategy, written by LDP official Yoshio Ogai. The book drew heavy criticism at the time for its approving treatment of Adolf Hitler's political tactics, relying heavily on Mein Kampf as a source. Human-rights groups condemned the work, and it was eventually withdrawn from sale.
Takaichi's connection lies in the book's preface she authored. In it, she reflected on her own experiences as a political candidate and invoked what she described as the "willpower" necessary to persevere—a theme critics say uncomfortably echoes the book's overall tone.
Years later, when questioned about the episode, Takaichi's office claimed she had "no recollection" of the book and did not know its author—a denial widely viewed in Japan as unconvincing. Analysts at the time suggested she was attempting to distance herself from a politically inconvenient past as she ascended within the party.
A photograph that sparks international outcry
Nearly two decades later, another controversy erupted. In 2011, Takaichi posed for a photograph with Kazunari Yamada, head a fringe group sometimes referred to in the Japanese press as the "Japan Nazi Party". The image, taken in front of the Japanese national flag, gained little attention until 2014, when international media—including AFP and The Guardian—reported on it, sparking widespread criticism from abroad.
Commentators noted that a similar incident would likely trigger immediate resignation in Europe.
Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading U.S. Jewish human-rights organization, expressed clear frustration. He said in October 2014 that he had ‘shaken his head' on seeing the photographs and questioned whether anyone was prepared to take responsibility to prevent such incidents.
Takaichi's office insisted she had no knowledge of Yamada's affiliations and had simply agreed to a quick photo during a routine parliament visit.
She later requested that the image be withdrawn. But critics found it difficult to reconcile this explanation with her earlier involvement in the Hitler-themed book controversy.
Each episode, they argued, might be explained individually, but together they paint a pattern that is harder to dismiss.
Analysts argue that Takaichi's political trajectory clearly demonstrates her deep entanglement with Japan's far-right forces. She is not merely a product of the soil that nurtures extreme-right politics in Japan, but an active participant in the process of radicalization, a figure embedded in the very fabric of Japan's far-right landscape.
（Translated by Evelyn）
https://www.oliannews.com/gj/2025/11-19/397401.shtml
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