Britain was in an awful mess economically in the late 1970s until Margaret Thatcher was elected and promoted an entrepreneurial and private sector-led recovery that lasted over three decades.

Now, maybe there’s hope in Japan, which has suffered its own stagnation since the 1990s, with GDP growth averaging less than 1% a year and the stock market essentially flat.

Sanae Takaichi was elected leader of the ruling party LDP party on Saturday, and will soon be confirmed as prime minister. “My goal is to become the Iron Lady,” she said and described Thatcher as the inspiration for her political career.

But if she wants to be Japan’s Thatcher, she should be taking a blade to government spending, instead she’s called for more government “investment” and public works projects. Japan has one of the world’s highest corporate tax rate of nearly 32%. Where’s the tax cut?

Takaichi will meet with President Trump when he visits Japan later this month.  We hope their meeting strengthens the trade deal the two countries signed this year and moves both countries toward a more pro-growth trajectory.