Taku Yamamoto

Taku Yamamoto
Taku Yamamoto
山本拓
	Official portrait, 2006
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Japan
	Assumed role; 21 October 2025
Monarch	Naruhito
Prime Minister	Sanae Takaichi
Preceded by	Yoshiko Ishiba
Member of the House of Representatives
	In office; 9 November 2003 – 14 October 2021
Preceded by	Takamori Makino
Succeeded by	Multi-member district
Constituency	Fukui 2nd (2003–2014); Hokuriku-Shin'etsu PR; (2014–2021)
	In office; 18 February 1990 – 27 September 1996
Preceded by	Multi-member constituency
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Constituency	Fukui at-large
Member of the Fukui Prefectural Assembly
	In office; 22 April 1983 – 17 February 1990
Constituency	Sabae City
Personal details
Born	Taku Yamamoto; 7 July 1952 (age 73); Sabae, Fukui, Japan
Party	Liberal Democratic; (until 1994; 2000–present)
Other political; affiliations	New Frontier (1994–1996); Independent (1996–2000)
Spouse	; Sanae Takaichi (m. 2004; div. 2017) (m. 2021)
Children	3
Alma mater	Hosei University
Occupation	Linguist • politician

Taku Yamamoto (Japanese: 山本拓, Hepburn: Yamamoto Taku; born 7 July 1952), legally Taku Takaichi (高市拓, Takaichi Taku), is a Japanese former politician of the Liberal Democratic Party^[1] who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1996 and again from 2003 to 2021. He is the husband of Sanae Takaichi, who has served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party since 2025; thus, he became the first male prime ministerial spouse.

Political career

Yamamoto was a member of the House of Representatives until 2021, when he lost his seat. A native of Sabae, Fukui and graduate of Hosei University. He was elected to the first of his two terms in the assembly of Fukui Prefecture in 1983, and to the House of Representatives for the first time in 1990. After losing his seat in 1996, he ran unsuccessfully for the governorship of Fukui Prefecture in 1999. He was re-elected to the House of Representatives in 2003.

Personal life

He married Sanae Takaichi, a fellow member of the House of Representatives, in 2004. Yamamoto's younger brother served as a parliamentary aide in her office. They agreed to a divorce in July 2017, with Takaichi citing differing political views and aspirations as the reason for the divorce.^[2] However, they rekindled their marriage in December 2021,^[3] and he adopted Takaichi's surname.^[4] She became president of the Liberal Democratic Party^[3] and ultimately prime minister of Japan in 2025, the first woman in the roles.

His eldest son, Ken Yamamoto, serves as a prefectural assembly member in Fukui.^[5]

Health

Yamamoto was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2024^[6] and suffered from a cerebral infarction in 2025, leaving the right side of his body unable to move. Takaichi serves as his carer.^[7]