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Japan’s benchmark stock index, the Nikkei 225, hit a record after the leading conservative party elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader.
Nicknamed the ‘Iron Lady’ after she cited former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as her hero, Takaichi has called for strengthening Japan’s military, and taking a tougher stance against China and North Korea. She also opposes same-sex marriage and retains ties to nationalist groups.
“It’s the Trump effect going global here, restructuring, tax cuts, improved economic growth, nominal GDP, renormalization of the economy and everyone talking resourcing, reshoring, so it’s pretty bullish,” said Federated Hermes CIO Stephen Auth during an appearance on ‘Making Money with Charles Payne.’
The Nikkei is now up over 20% this year, the iShares MSCI Japan ETF closely mirrors the index. Even before the election, Japan’s economy was pulling itself out of a deflation spiral.
“It’s been in a deflation for the last thirty years, prices going down you can’t run an economy that way but finally now they’ve solved that, inflation is back, nominal GDP is growing the central bank is actually raising rates off if zero so it’s a pretty good environment” Auth added.
Other Japan-focused exchange-traded funds including WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund and JPMorgan BetaBuilders Japan ETF also got a boost.
GOLD PRICE FOMO MAY SEND METAL TO NEW RECORD
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DXJ | WISDOMTREE TRUST JAPAN TOTAL DIVIDEND FD SBI | 133.17 | +3.56 | +2.75% |
| EWJ | ISHARES MSCI JAPAN ETF – USD DIS | 83.27 | +1.49 | +1.82% |
| BBJP | JP MORGAN ETF TRUST BETABUILDERS JAPAN USD | 68.74 | +1.18 | +1.75% |
As the world’s fourth-largest economy and a key ally of the U.S., Japan’s election win drew applause from U.S. President Donald Trump via a post on Truth Social.
JAPAN ELECTS FIRST FEMALE PRIME MINISTER
“Japan has just elected its first female Prime Minister, a highly respected person of great wisdom and strength. This is tremendous news for the incredible people of Japan. Congratulations to all! President Donald J. Trump”
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also celebrated her win on X.
“I agree with @POTUS – this is incredible news! Congratulations to @takaichi_sanae on her election as leader of the LDP and soon-to-be Prime Minister of Japan. She has shown herself to be a strong leader, policy maker and communicator throughout her impressive career, and will be a valuable partner in deepening the relationship between Japan and the United States. Japan is one of America’s closest allies and friends, and we look forward to working with her and her cabinet on economic and national security issues of mutual interest.”
Takaichi, the former economic security minister of Japan, beat Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, the son of popular former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in a runoff in an intraparty vote over the weekend by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this story.
