Drumroll for Japan’s first female leader

The new prime minister, Takaichi Sanae, takes power as more Japanese women seek help in their work-life balance.

Despite being Asia’s oldest continuous democracy, Japan has been far behind the region’s other countries in electing a woman leader. That changed Tuesday when Takaichi Sanae, a conservative in Japan’s long-dominant party, became the nation’s first female prime minister.

Despite the ceiling-busting triumph, however, this former drummer in a heavy-metal band got off on the wrong foot with a comment that helps explain why so few Japanese women enter politics or buck a cultural norm that sees women primarily as caregivers.

In a speech, Ms. Takaichi asked everyone to “work like a horse,” and then added, “I myself will cast aside the idea of ‘work-life balance’. I’ll work, work, wo