Global News Podcast - First female prime minister appointed in Japan

Episode Date: October 21, 2025

The Japanese parliament elects the new leader of the Liberal Party, Sanae Takaichi, as the country's first female prime minister. She holds conservative views and is not known to push for women's rights. Also, the US Vice President JD Vance arrives in Israel, just two days after the Gaza ceasefire was tested by deadly clashes, and how deep brain stimulation helped a woman with Parkinson's regain her ability to play the clarinet. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: [e-mail]

You're listening to the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway. We're recording this at 15 hours GMT on Tuesday the 21st of October. Japan gets its first woman prime minister. The US vice president, J.D. Vance, arrives in Israel to help shore up the Gaza ceasefire. And after Louis XVI and Marshal Patin, Nicola Sarkozy becomes only the third French leader in history to go to jail. Also in the podcast, How do Wally fireworks sent pollution sky high in Delhi. But we start in Japan. The announcement that the Japanese parliament had elected its first ever woman prime minister,

Senei Takaichi, a former heavy metal drummer whose parents refused to pay for her university education because she was a girl, she has now broken through the glass ceiling. But despite promising high levels of female representation, she only named two other women in her 19-member cabinet. They are Japan's first woman finance minister and a hawkish economic security minister. We heard more about the new Prime Minister from our Tokyo correspondent, Shyama Khalil. Sinai Takaiichi is now Japan's Iron Lady, a long-time ambition of hers, being an admirer of the late Margaret Thatcher.

It's a historic moment, but what does her leadership mean for the country? Simply put, with her in power, Japan's politics has shifted to the right. She's a staunch conservative, and while she's now broken new ground in a patriarchal society, many women say that she herself represents the patriarchy and Japan's male-dominated politics. The new prime minister has long opposed same-sex marriage. She's against women being in line of succession in the imperial family and has opposed the legislation that would allow married couples to have separate last names. One woman told me, look, it's great that she's Japan's first woman leader,

but she's not really going against the grind. She's saying the same thing as the men. Still, for girls growing up here, the optics are significant, even if the politics, is the same. Remember also that she comes to power voted in by parliament, not by the people. after her predecessor stepped down and she won the leadership of the ruling party. She will preside over a minority government.

The public are watching closely because they want to know what she'll do to handle inflation and help with the cost of living crisis. The economy will be a tough challenge as well as rebuilding trust among an angry and frustrated electorate. One big moment happening very soon into her leadership is the upcoming Donald Trump visit in about a week's time. He described her as a woman of great strength and wisdom,

And they're on the same wavelength politically. Japan is, of course, America's biggest ally in the region. But the two countries still need to hash out details of the tariff deal they struck in August. Sanai Takaiichi will also have to make a good impression and work on building a rapport with President Trump, whose diplomacy is based heavily on personal relationships. Shai Mahalil in Tokyo. The U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has arrived in Israel

just two days after the Gaza ceasefire was severely tested by the deadliest clashes yet. The fighting between Hamas and the Israeli military was an indication of how much outside supporters needed to keep the truce alive. Never mind, agree, a permanent peace. I asked Yoland Nell in Jerusalem what to expect from Jady Vance's visit.

Well, he's here for two days, and really, on the one hand, he's trying to shore up the ceasefire, make sure that it doesn't break down, as it looked like it could on Sunday. But he's also here to try to push things on to the next stage, because of course this is a very ambitious 20-point post-war vision for Gaza that President Trump has. And, you know, it requires a lot of concessions to be made

by both Israel and Hamas. And so far, the talks on the second stage haven't really got going in earnest. So he's looking at issues like post-war governance, how to have this independent Palestinian administration, a multinational force. for Gaza and actually one of his first stop-offs was meeting US troops. There are about 200 who are currently based in Israel and they're in a kind of coordinating role for security when the multinational force will be on the ground with troops coming from Arab and Muslim countries. That's what the US envisages. He's also been meeting already the two US special emboys, Steve Wikoff and Jared Kushner getting an update on their conversations that they've had with the

Israeli Prime Minister. They've been here already for a day. And when he met them, they had just come from what looked like a very emotional meeting with the hostages who were freed just one week ago. And of course, these two men were instrumental in getting that ceasefire deal across the line. There's another meeting that's actually been happening as well, which is important, which is between the Egyptian intelligence chief. He's been meeting the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And they have also been talking about President Trump's plan. And the Egyptian intelligence chief came here just fresh from conversations that he's been having with Hamas. They've been meeting mediators in Cairo.

Now, part of this agreement is to get more aid into Gaza. After that fighting at the weekend, an Israeli security official announced the suspension of deliades. Some aid is now getting in, but agency said they can only transport limited amounts. Abea Atefa is from the World Food Programme in Geneva. The biggest challenge is that we still have two crossings only operational, and the northern crossings are yet to be opened, which is limiting the access to the most vulnerable areas. Roads are blocked and destroyed, which is a huge limitation to transport.

And your land, when might? Israel reopen those northern crossings? Well, we've already heard from the UN in recent days that the paths to those crossings have largely been cleared. The roads, of course, had been strewn with rubble. And there is a lot of pressure for those crossings to reopen because that would really help in the north of Gaza, particularly in Gaza City. This is an area that people have been going back on. It's devastated. And that's, of course, where famine has already been declared in Gaza. Yeah, and now in Jerusalem.

Nicola Sarkozy has become the first ex-president of France to go to jail, and only the third head of state there to be incarcerated. After Louis XVIth during the Revolution and the Nazi collaborator, Philippe Petin, Mr Sarkozy is serving a five-year sentence for conspiring to fund an election campaign with money from the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. He said he would take two books with him, a life of Jesus, and the Count of Monte Cristo, the story of a man wrongly imprisoned who escapes to wreak vengeance on his prosecutors. Just before travelling to the prison in central Paris, Mr Sarkozy posted,

the truth will triumph, but the price to pay will have been crushing. Our correspondent in Paris, Hugh Schofield, has more details. It's a big, big moment. This is a former president of France, who's a man very active still politically with his network, still regarded by many on the right as the last once upon the line, the last chance of the right. The last time the right was united was behind Sarkozy 10, 12 years ago. So a man who still counts, and here he is imprisoned in an 11 square meter cell in a wing

near drug dealers and convicted terrorists. For the whole of France, this is a shocking and quite unusual moment, whether you are for him or against. And so yes, he's gone in making quite clear he does not want to have any special favours done. He did not ask to be put in the isolation wing, but he was put there for his own safety by the prison authorities because they know that he would be a potential target for other inmates who would find pleasure in beating him up or whatever. And he's going to have the regular prison routine. One hour exercise, all by himself in a courtyard,

a television in his room, a lavatory and a shower in his room, but not much else. And then he'll have to wait and see. I mean, there will be early an appeal to get him out by his lawyer. So it's most unlikely he will serve probably no more than a few months. but, you know, he doesn't know that. Hugh Schofield in Paris. On Monday, millions of people in India celebrated Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights.

Fireworks lit up the sky in the Indian capital last night, but they came at a huge environmental cost. Air pollution in Delhi was recorded at 40 times the World Health Organization recommended limit. The city is frequently cited as the most polluted on earth. So what's it been like in the past 24 hours? I asked our reporter Ishadrita Lahiri. The air quality here has been in the severe to hazardous levels as per world health organisation standards.

The morning after Diwadi, there was a blanket of grey haze all across Delhi. The air smells like ash. The visibility is very poor. And, you know, I, like most other people, can feed it in my throat and in my lungs. So the air quality has been really bad. Now, the Supreme Court said that only green fireworks could be used. Did you notice any difference? Not really.

In fact, even if you look at the data, it's just as bad as it has been every year since 2020 when the first ban on firecrackers happened. Anecdotally or also in terms of data, there is not much difference in the production levels. And also, I was going around the markets yesterday as have our other colleagues in the BBC. And getting normal firecrackers was not very difficult. So it's not just like only green crackers were available in the market. There were normal firecrackers as well. And they were also being used last night. And what do people make of the pollution? Do they just see it as something you have to put up with if you're going to have a proper Diwali celebration? But you know, this is

also a social and political issue. Of course, people in cities like Delhi, which sees terrible production every year. It's an issue that they talk about. It's something that they don't look forward to. There are people who go out of Delhi during this time to just avoid the pollution. You know, kids can't go out to play. But especially in terms of Diwali, it's also like a social issue because there are people who believe that bursting firecrackers is a part of Indian tradition and Hindu tradition and there should be no curb on that on this particular day. So it's a double-edged sword. But yeah, I mean, in terms of the pollution, people most definitely not enjoying that in Delhi right now. And I understand Pakistan is also affected by polluted air at the moment.

Yes, well, that's true because both in India and Pakistan, there's also the problem of agricultural stubble burning, which is a problem in states like Punjab and Haryana in India and also in Pakistan, which contributes significantly to the air pollution in these areas, especially in the winters. and it has been a problem that governments in both countries have been trying to curb for a very long time but because of economic reasons and also again for social reasons, it's been very difficult to curb this problem.

So it is something that adds to the already bad air pollution during this time of the year. Mishitr Lahiri in Delhi. Today he sees the release of a new documentary, Spacewoman, charting the remarkable journey of American astronaut Eileen Collins, the first woman to pilot and command a space shuttle. Would a woman crack under pressure? There was a large part of the community that didn't just think she couldn't do it, but we're probably actively rooting against her.

She once told me, you had to be better than the men to be equal. That's exactly what I want to do. Three, two, one. I think until we are tested, we don't know what we're capable of. So what was Eileen Collins capable of? She's been talking to Nick Robinson. Looking back, I thought, well, I was quite a courageous young person, but I really believe in exploration. I believe in what we're doing. I looked at the risks and I felt that it was

going to be okay. The risks were high, though, weren't they? I mean, there were missions in which the entire crew were lost. In the history of the space shuttle program, we've had two fatal accidents, and that's out of 135 missions. That is a very bad statistic. You certainly would not make that a commercial endeavor with those kind of numbers. The space shuttle was experimental and we're going into space which is a place that we're just now learning about. We're just now learning about the universe that we live in.

Part of the story of this film is not just how you confronted those dangers but what that meant for your family and you talk very openly about the stress on your family. That's one of the things. I think Hannah Barryman, our director, really brought that out. If I had made the film, it would have been more like, hey, look at these really

cool four missions that I flew. You know, the Mir space station, the international space station, a telescope. But no, Hannah brought out the family side of it. And I gave her all of our family videos and photos. And she interviewed my husband and my daughter and my son. Yeah, and your daughter battled with anorexia. Yeah. She was nine years old when I flew my last mission. And you get the focus because you were the first woman to pilot and commander space shuttle. Now it is much more common. I know when we look at Artemis 2 and Artemis 3, that we know

that we're women on board both of those missions. Is it frustrating for you? that it's pointed out that you're a woman first rather than simply the achievement. Well, I didn't want to focus on the fact that I was the first woman, pilot and commander. I definitely wanted to focus on my job and what I was doing. But it was important for people outside of our agency. It's what people were interested in. And I have talked to women around the world. They struggle with being the only woman in the workplace.

And they want to know how I handled that. Tell us about the future of space. What excites you? Excited by the prospect reaching Mars? Yeah. this is very exciting. We are living in a renaissance in space exploration right now. NASA and the international partners are going back to the moon to stay. Why? We're going to be testing the equipment that we will eventually use on Mars. The equipment that will keep us alive are habitats,

water recycling, air recycling, protection from radiation, and the ultimate goal is to go to Mars. NASA astronaut Eileen Collins. Still to come on the Global News podcast, The patient who played the clarinet during a brain operation. Under Joe Biden, the US spent hundreds of billions of dollars on climate and green technologies. But with President Trump back in the White House, the government is now pulling back some of those funds. It's affecting communities across the U.S., including the hometown of the vice president, J.D. Vance, as Erin Delmore reports. Looking at it already, right? So that's what? A couple days worth? Heather Gibson used to change her air filters a few times a year. Now it's every two weeks.

And this won't even, no matter how hard you, it won't come off. It's soot. From her home in Middletown, Ohio, we can see a plant that makes coke, a fuel used in the steel-making process. derived from coal. My grandparents lived in Kentucky. And back then in the 70s, they could burn coal in her fireplace. You would wake up in the morning and it would be just that sweet smell of coal. And I love that smell because it takes me back. This is that smell times 5,000, though.

And it's just not good. It's not good. The Coke process just a few hundred feet away fuels Middletown Works, a steel plant owned by the country's second largest producer, Cleveland Cliffs. Environmentalists hoped this would be a blueprint for converting steel plants from coal to hydrogen-powered furnaces all across the U.S., thanks to partial funding from a $500 million grant from the Biden administration. But the Trump administration has moved to acts many of the Biden-era green initiatives and put the funds for this plant upgrade on pause, to the surprise of some who expected more from the town's most famous resident. This facility dominates the town of Middletown, Ohio. But it's no longer what the town is. best known for. That's because it's where Vice President J.D. Vance was born and raised, and

it's also where he set the memoir that made him famous. Scottie Robertson is a pastor in town and is running from Middletown City Council. I asked him whether residents thought J.D. Vance's political power would benefit them. The hope is that he would make sure that the policies that came from the administration would be policies that by and large would lift Middletown families up. However, the reality of this new administration for a few months now, we're finding that that's actually not the case. Cleveland Cliffs declined to comment,

but earlier this year, the firm's CEO said the plant upgrade couldn't move forward because of a lack of available hydrogen. The federal government had already put the grant money on ice. I asked Heather why, if residents wanted better air, they didn't vote for it. Unfortunately, these days we all vote with our emotions and not much else.

I know that different presidents have different agendas, and I totally understand that. But when one administration comes in and says, this is what we're doing, the next administration should not be able to come in and wipe it all clean because they don't like that idea. I'm sorry, I don't agree with that. And this is why we can't get anywhere in America. Heather Gibson, ending that report by Erin Delmore in Ohio. After fleeing the violence in Syria, Ahmed al-Rawashdeh was resettled in Northern Ireland in 2018. However, not all of his family made it there.

A son, daughter and five of his grandchildren were left behind. They went missing last year after contacting people traffickers. Our reporter Jennifer O'Leary followed Emad's return to Syria to try to find his loved ones. Jennifer spoke to Rob Young. In 2014, Imad and all of his family for soft safety from Syria in Lebanon. And it was four years later in 2018 when Imman. dad, his wife, and some of their children were resettled by the United Nations to Northern Ireland. Now, they don't know why, as they see it, that the family file was split.

But the children who were left behind in Lebanon were adults at that stage. And they, you know, they encouraged their parents and their siblings who'd been offered a chance to live in Northern Ireland, to take it, including the eldest daughter in the family Wad. And this is Wad setting out how she took on the first challenge she faced in her new, home, the language barrier given they did not speak English when they first arrived. We come without any English. Step by step, we start to learn, start to make conversation. Every day when the children come back from school, ask them, what do you learn today?

They learn like one word, two words. They tell me and I write it and start to build. myself. And what led then to some of Imad's children who were left behind going missing? Well, last year, his eldest son, Hassan and another daughter called Hanin, decided to leave Lebanon for Libya, and both had families and children of their own. And the group planned to get from Libya to Italy by boat after making contact with the trafficker. And as Wad explains, a hurried voice message from her brother on August 24th, that they were being moved that evening.

They didn't speak with us. Just sent a voicemail to my dad and my husband. They saw a trafficker and they're going to leave now. That's last contact with them. Now what happened next is unclear, Rob. You know, was the group detained in Libya? Did they make it as far as the boat? Did they drown at sea or just?

some of the possible outcomes. And the missing includes five of Imad's grandchildren. And this is somebody who spoke to his grandchildren via video calls every day up to that point. And he's vowed to never stop looking for them. He travelled to Libya last year in search of answers. And in recent weeks, he returned to his homeland to Syria seeking official help. And that trip back to his homeland was his first since he fled the Civil War. must have been very emotional for him.

It really was. I mean, you know, he's a father who managed to get his children out of harm's way in Syria by leaving their hometown, a place called Dara, known as the birthplace, if you like, of the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. And in the program, we show his return in recent weeks to Dara and to the very home that he built to raise a family of his own. And this is Ahmad speaking outside his home. And you get a sense of just how difficult it is for him.

I miss everything in my house, the trees, everything was. And Imad, did a bomb drop on your home? Yeah, here. This is here, yes. And this fire on the home. I remember all the family and my kids beside me here. Syrian refugee, Amad, who is talking to our reporter, Jennifer. for O'Leary. The BBC has launched its search for the women's footballer of 2025. It's been a

fantastic year, both internationally and at club level for women's football. So who will come out on top? A panel of current and former professionals, coaches and journalists have narrowed it down to five nominations. Now the public gets to vote online for its standout player. So who is on the short list? I always chances is Aitana Balmati evades the siding challenge of need Charles and here come Barcelona looking to open the scoring. It's brilliant from Bon Mati. I always tell the people that in 10 years old, Aitana,

you already could tell that she was a different player. She played the first two years she played with boys. As a coach, I already saw that she stood out above the rest. She had a different and special talent with the ball at her feet. I just play football, I just go out and I just do what I love doing. Up against Hannah Hanson, the slow run up and Hampton makes the save. To be honest, I think just a nomination for me is a nomination for the goalkeepers out there and the praise that we're finally getting as a union and they're seeing the hard work that loads of us are putting behind the scenes.

I remember my life without the football. It's an honor and it makes me feel so happy when people recognize my work. But at the end, like I'm playing football, it's a sport, a collective sport, a team of sport. So it's not about me, but of course I'm happy to perform and I'm happy to help everyone. Now it's Caldente. She moves forward, right footed, into the bottom left, left corner.

There's no better feeling than winning a trophy with you, After we won the Euros, I think, looking back on those kind of May, June, July, August was like, I almost couldn't process it because of what had happened. And I think when I'm retired, I'll look back saying that they're the best four months ever. But yeah, it was incredible. The truth is that these last few years with Barcelona have been incredibly. And that is world-class from Diaro. Especially in terms of results, in terms of how we are evolving and we are achieving the objectives we want. Vote now for the BBC Women's Footballer of the Year.

Go to BBC.com slash women's football where you'll also find the terms and privacy notice. It's your choice. It's your champion. And a reminder, the nominees are Spain and Barcelona's Itana Bon Matty, England and Chelsea's Hannah Hampton, Spain and Arsenal's Mariona Caldente, England and Arsenal's Celestia Russo, and Spain and Barcelona's Patrick Guillarro. When operating on someone's brain, it can be hard for surgeons to judge how much impact they're having on their patient's abilities. Here in Britain, a woman with Parkinson's disease helped her doctors out by. playing the clarinet during her four-hour operation. 65-year-old Denise Bacon had to give up the instrument five years ago because of her condition. But while she was undergoing a procedure at King's College Hospital recently,

she played scales and other tunes and noticed an instant improvement in her finger movements. Here's how it sounded. And Denise told us more about it. I'm feeling really pleased that I'm getting towards being able to play the clarinet again. There's a period of programming that has to take place after the operation. So after the recovery period, gradually getting more and more stimulation. And I can see that when I try to play the clarinet, it's gradually getting better. It was just amazing to see and feel my fingers moving better and faster and blowing more.

The operation was carried out by Professor Kayumars Ashkan. It's a moment of joy. It's a moment of being really elated because all we do is to give the best that we can possibly do and give to our patients. You've got to listen to your patient and find out what it is that you want from the treatment. The first step is to understand what are the goals. And then when you know the goals and when you plan a treatment to reach those goals, and then when you see those goals achieve on the table, real time in front of your eyes, instantaneously, that's the moment of pure happiness and pleasure

for the patients because you manage you do the job. Professor Kiyomar's Ashkan. And that is all from us for now, but the Global News Podcast will be back very soon. This edition was mixed by Callan McLean and produced by Isabella Jewel and Richard Hamilton. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Oliver Conway. next time, goodbye.