Charming Donald Trump one week, angering China the next, Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has had a busy start and is riding high in the polls, all on a few hours of sleep a night.

But the honeymoon may end soon for the Margaret Thatcher-admiring premier, if the current spat with China escalates further and she fails to keep inflation in check.

"I believe Prime Minister Takaichi will surely do what she needs to do, so I trust her," Kozue Otsuka, 50, told AFP at a festival this week for business-owners seeking good fortune.

But buying a lucky "kumade" rake featuring a smiling goddess of mirth, the housewife added: "I hope that Japan–China relations will gradually move in a better direction."

"What I am worried about, most of all, is the (prime) minister's remarks. China got really

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