Japan’s prime minister is a master of drums and diplomacy.

She has the opportunity to combine her skills to support Japanese farmers like me.

Sanae Takaichi is one of the most powerful prime ministers in our nation’s history, following a huge win in Japan’s general elections. It was truly a Takaichi whirlwind. Her party now holds a supermajority in the legislature. She and her allies enjoy a remarkable opportunity to push our nation forward in many areas, including agriculture.

Pundits have called her “Japan’s Iron Lady,” in reference to the original “Iron Lady”: Margaret Thatcher, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom throughout the 1980s. Thatcher became a world-historical figure as she partnered with U.S. President Ronald Reagan to confront Communism and defeat the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Takaichi shares much more in common with Thatcher than the mere fact that she is a woman who is a Prime Minister. She in fact admires Thatcher for her strong leadership and conservative convictions. She even met the late Thatcher in 2013, calling it a “life-changing” moment.

In our time, Prime Minister Takaichi faces plenty of her own diplomatic challenges, especially as China becomes more powerful and militaristic. How she responds will shape her legacy.

She has the special advantage of possessing a unique ability: She plays the drums.

As a university student, Takaichi was the drummer in a heavy-metal band. It’s amusing to think of Japan’s Iron Lady keeping the beat to a song by Iron Maiden (whose members, by the way, once released a live album called “Maiden Japan”).

For Takaichi, however, drums aren’t just a hobby. They’re also a tool of diplomacy. Earlier this year, a video of her performing with the president of South Korea went viral. What a creative way to forge a friendship across international lines.

As Prime Minister Takaichi pursues her foreign-policy agenda, she also must focus her flair for diplomacy on domestic threats. Inflation is very high, meaning the cost of everything is rising. Our national birth rate is too low, meaning our population is declining.

And then there’s agriculture, which combines these two challenges with a hybrid vigor.

Because of inflation, prices are up for farmers who must purchase equipment, fertilizer, and more. They’re also up for consumers, who watch as their grocery-store bills soar. Takaichi has promised to suspend a special tax on food for two years, which may help consumers. Farmers can support this tax relief, but they are concerned about the cash flow challenges it could pose.  It is not a long-term solution.

To complicate matters, Japan’s farmers are growing old. The average age now approaches 70. Not enough young people are taking up agriculture—a cultural conundrum compounded by Japan’s demographic decline.

There are no easy answers to this looming crisis, but a common-sense reform to the Agricultural Land Act would help.

Right now, the ownership of farmland in Japan is highly fragmented. We need a system that concentrates fields in the hands of talented agricultural managers. Failure to do this hurts food production and keeps prices high for consumers. It also discourages ambitious and innovative young people from seeking their futures on farms. They know that even if they work hard, they will have trouble reaping rewards.

I have an idea for Prime Minister Takaichi.

We don’t appear to have much in common, at least not on the surface. She’s a woman and I’m a man. She’s a politician who harvests votes. I’m a farmer who grows rice and adzuki beans.

But we share a love of rock music. She bangs the drums and I strum the guitar. We both bring our passions into our professions: She uses her drums for diplomacy and I play the guitar for farmers. I even wrote and recorded a song about sustainable farming—and turned it into a music video.

We should compose a song about Japanese farming—and how to secure its promise and potential through land reform.

I’m pretty sure Iron Maiden never has recorded a song about agriculture. If ours is good enough, perhaps Iron Maiden can cover a tune from the new Iron Lady.

It could be, as Americans like to say, “Big in Japan.”

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