
Kip Cheroutes

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Today, Sanae Takaichi is the most powerful person in Japan — an ultraconservative politician elected as the first female prime minister in the country’s history.
But Kip Cheroutes remembers her as the bright, outgoing intern in his Denver office — a lover of fast cars and American peanut butter who was anxious to learn from their boss, Democrat U.S. Representative Pat Schroeder.
In 1987, 26-year-old Takaichi reportedly reached out to Schroeder after being moved by the congresswoman’s tearful speech in Civic Center Park announcing that she would not run for president. Takaichi encouraged Schroeder to try again someday, and Schroeder hired her as a congressional intern. Takaichi went to D.C. for the job, later relocating to Denver to work out of Schroeder’s district office, Cheroutes recalls.
“Sanae was friendly, she was curious, she was eager to learn,” says Cheroutes, who worked for Schroeder for eighteen years and was her director of communications at the time. “It was clear that she wanted to learn how a strong woman politician operated in the streets of Denver.”

Kip Cheroutes
Schroeder, who died in 2023, was the first woman to represent Colorado in the U.S. House, serving the First Congressional District for 24 years after being elected in 1972 at the age of 32. She was a feminist icon, a pioneer for women’s rights and one of the most influential Democrats in Congress during her tenure.
Takaichi soaked up Schroeder’s lessons “like a sponge,” Cheroutes says.
“It was clear that Sanae had ambitions. Schroeder knew she was informally mentoring a protégé,” he says. “I think her success stems from watching how Pat Schroeder dealt with people on the street, going into stores, saying hello, shaking hands. I think Sanae learned how to connect with people from Schroeder.”
Takaichi’s political views have dramatically deviated from Schroeder’s, however.
Takaichi, 64, is among the most right-leaning members of Japan’s traditionalist, conservative Liberal Democratic Party. She supports traditional gender roles and male-only succession to the Japanese throne, opposes same-sex marriage and allowing separate surnames for married couples, and advocates for harsher regulations on immigration. She has also downplayed Japan’s atrocities during World War II.
Cheroutes says if Takaichi held such conservative views during her internship with Schroeder, they never came up.
“I remember, years later, Schroeder saying something to the effect of, ‘My, she’s turning conservative,'” Cheroutes recalls. “I never heard Schroeder say, ‘Where did I fail her?’ But I just remember Schroeder saying, ‘Wow, she’s turned right.'”
Takaichi’s embrace of the right could be partially inspired by the troubles she witnessed Schroeder face in office.
Despite her seniority, Schroeder was never appointed to head a full committee during her decades in Congress. She was known for openly challenging the male-dominated establishment, even to her political detriment, proclaiming that she wasn’t willing to join “the good old boys’ club.” After ending her exploratory bid for president, Schroeder said, “I realized that America was not man enough to elect a woman,” lamenting that her gender “eclipsed” her political message.
Takaichi is now the leader of the male-dominated Liberal Democratic Party. She has named Margaret Thatcher, the conservative first female prime minister of the United Kingdom, as a personal inspiration.
“The paradox of having the politics of Margaret Thatcher and the style of Pat Schroeder,” Cheroutes laughs. “That amuses me.”
During her time in Colorado, Takaichi lived in southeast Denver with the family of the receptionist for Schroeder’s district office, according to Cheroutes. He says she enjoyed the mountain scenery, the friendliness of the people and “became a big fan of American peanut butter,” which she “very proudly” announced to the office.
As the prime minister of Japan, Cheroutes hopes Takaichi will continue the cycle of inspiring the next generation of female politicians.
“Schroeder was a role model to Sanae,” he says. “And now, Sanae can be a role model to Japanese women.”