In a fascinating intersection of politics and heavy metal, Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, recently appeared on Babymetal‘s radio show to discuss her lifelong passion for hard rock and heavy metal. The 64-year-old leader, Japan’s first female Prime Minister, revealed her musical journey, from discovering Black Sabbath as a child to still playing drums today to “let off steam.”
Before taking office, Takaichi was a guest on “Babymetal’s Metal Radio“, a Tokyo FM show hosted by the members of Babymetal that aims to “unite the world and connect the world through metal” by interviewing “secret metal” fans. During the appearance, the then-candidate detailed a deep and enduring connection to heavy music.
Her love for the genre started at a remarkably young age. “When I was in elementary school, I started listening to Black Sabbath: Paranoid, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and things like that,” Takaichi shared. “Then, when I got to middle school, Deep Purple came out, and then ‘Burn‘ and ‘Smoke On The Water‘ and so on, and I got into that.”
This early passion quickly evolved into active participation. Takaichi learned to play bass and keyboards in middle school and was even recruited by a “delinquent type” for what she amusingly called a “really crappy band.” Her musical pursuits continued into high school, where she switched to drums. “I wore a jersey under my skirt, straddled the bike, parked it behind the school, and climbed over the wire fence to get to school every morning,” she recalled in a separate interview about her rebellious youth, which included riding a motorcycle against school rules.
Her high school band played covers, including The Rolling Stones‘ “Jumping Jack Flash.” She later joined an all-female group whose setlist included classics by UFO like “Rock Bottom” and “Doctor Doctor,” as well as Rainbow‘s “I Surrender.” Her musical involvement even reached a professional level during college. “I was a heavy metal fan and played in four bands as a drummer… In my second or third year, I was in a professional backing band, playing drums behind Mariko Kobayashi, the Janice of Naniwa. It was a lot of fun,” she revealed in a 2021 interview.
Remarkably, her passion for drumming continues to this day, serving as a personal stress reliever. “When I get irritated by my husband’s choice of words or behaviour, I play the electronic drums after he’s gone to bed,” Takaichi confessed on the Babymetal show. “‘Burn‘ by Deep Purple is a staple. I play songs like this to let off steam.”
During the wide-ranging discussion, Takaichi also expressed her admiration for Michael Schenker‘s instrumental “Into The Arena” and the second album by US rockers Riot, Narita. She spoke of her longtime love for Iron Maiden and named Yoshiki of the legendary Japanese band X Japan as her favorite musician.
You can listen to the interview down below, but it’s in Japanese.
As you can see in her cover of X Japan‘s 1994 single “Rusty Nail” below, she also got some vocal skills.
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