'You are my god', Japan's PM tells British rock band Deep Purple

Hard rock enthusiast Sanae Takaichi beamed as she met the rockers in her Tokyo office. Japanese PM Takaichi meets British rock band Deep Purple Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Japan's prime minister told the band she had been listening to their hard rock music since she was in primary school Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi poses with Ian Paice. They hold a set of signed drumsticks between them. Takaichi has short black hair and wears a black blazer over a black top. Paice has long white hair, tied back, and wears glasses, a black blazer and a grey buttoned shirt. 'You are my god', Japan's PM tells British rock band Deep Purple The British rock band Deep Purple met a long-time super fan in Tokyo on Friday - who just happened to be the Japanese prime minister. "You are my god," Sanae Takaichi, a hard rock enthusiast, told the band's drummer Ian Paice, beaming as she handed him a pair of signed Japanese-made drumsticks. An avid drummer herself, Takaichi played in a Deep Purple tribute band as a girl after becoming a fan in primary school. "These days, when I fight with my husband I drum to Burn and cast a curse on him," the 65-year-old conservative leader told the musicians at her office in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, on Friday. The band met Japan's first female prime minister as they returned to tour across the country where they recorded the 1972 live album Made in Japan - considered to be one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded. "I can't believe Deep Purple are here," Takaichi said, smiling as she greeted the musicians. "I have the deepest respect for the way you continue to make rock history while embracing new challenges and creating captivating music to this day," she said through an interpreter. The prime minister said she hoped the tour would "thrill and excite fans all over Japan" and promote cultural exchange between the UK and Japan. Paice said it was always a pleasure to visit Japan, but called the meeting an "added bonus". The band visited their high-profile fan before their scheduled appearance at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan arena on Saturday Takaichi poses with Deep Purple. They stand side-by-side in a line and smile. Left to right are: Don Airey, Ian Paice, Sanae Takaichi, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and Simon McBride. They are stood in a room with wood-panelled walls, and grey blinds drawn over a windowed wall to the right of the frame. The band wrote in a post on Instagram: "A lifelong fan of hard rock and heavy metal, Takaichi has often named Deep Purple as one of her favourite bands. "She even told the group she bought their Machine Head album back in grade school." Formed in England in 1968, Deep Purple became known as one of the "unholy trinity" of British heavy metal bands, alongside Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Perhaps their most renowned hit - Smoke on the Water - came on their 1971 album Machine Head. Takaichi played keyboard in a Deep Purple tribute band before picking up the drums while at university - after which she was known to carry several sets of drumsticks due to a tendency to break them during intense performances. The visit will have been a welcome respite for the prime minister, who has faced increasingly strained diplomatic ties with China, rising prices and a sluggish economy since coming to office in October. Newly-elected Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader Sanae Takaichi receives an applause after winning the LDP leadership election on October 4, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan Meet Japan's drum-playing, Thatcher-loving first female prime minister Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi smiles at the cameras, wearing a blue blazer, a string of pearls and a black top. China is hitting Japan where it hurts. Will PM Takaichi give in? A misfired joke nearly derailed Samay Raina’s comedy career. Now he’s back, reclaiming his voice. Cheng Li-wun is the Kuomintang's first sitting leader to visit China in a decade. The changes will give government more power over news-related posts shared by podcasters and influencers. Glastonbury is having a fallow year but there are huge line-ups at many other festivals this year - and something different if you fancy that too. The 43-year-old denies the charge and has been released on bail and had to surrender his passport. Manon announced in February she was taking a break from the group, who play Coachella this weekend. The London singer shaped the music for the first two series but has since said he is "done" with it. Astronauts in space have been jamming to Chappell Roan's Pink Pony Club, but how does it all happen?