Sanae Takaichi: Meet Japan's drum-playing, Thatcher-loving first female PM

The conservative politician, who sees Margaret Thatcher as an inspiration, has become Japan's first female prime minister.

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It was only after two failed attempts that Sanae Takaichi finally achieved her long-held ambition. In a historic parliamentary vote on 21 October, the 64-year-old was elected Japan's first female prime minister.

She's a colourful figure on the right of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who talks tough on immigration and has some conservative views on women's equality.

A former government minister and TV host, and once a drummer in a heavy metal band, Takaichi will now face the challenge of leading not only a party struggling to regain voter trust after scandals and dealing with the burgeoning far right - but a country tackling a sluggish economy, low birth rates and rising geopolitical tensions.

Takaishi was born in Nara Prefecture in 1961. Her father was an office worker and her mother a police officer. Politics was far removed from her upbringing.