Prime Minister of Japan to Ian Paice: “You are my god”

An unusual compliment… from an equally unusual source. The prime minister Sanae Takaichiwhich came to power in Japan in October 2025, met with the Deep Purple before their performance at the famous Budokan in Tokyo. The prime minister welcomed the band members to her office in Tokyo, proclaiming: “Deep Purple is here!”, before the drummer Ian Paice would reply: “You’re a drummer: we’re friends!”.

Takaichi, who began playing drums in high school before joining an all-female band whose repertoire included UFO and Rainbow classics, responded to Paice: “You are my god!” and gave him a pair of autographed drumsticks. “It’s always a pleasure to come to Japan,” Paice said. “And this time we have an extra advantage.”

“Deep Purple has always been a band I deeply admire,” Takaichi told the group. “I bought Machine Head for the first time when I was in elementary school, and I also bought Smoke On The Water And HighwayStar.”

Last year, before she was elected, Takaichi appeared on Babymetal’s Metal Radio, a Tokyo FM program hosted by Su-metal band members Moametal and Momometal, and said: “When I get irritated by my husband’s words or behavior, I play the electronic drums after he goes to bed. Burn by Deep Purple is a classic. I play songs like this to vent.”