Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who came to power in October 2025, met with Deep Purple ahead of their appearance on Tokyo's famed Budokan Hall on Saturday.
The 65-year-old politician welcomed the members of the band to the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo, proclaiming, "Deep Purple are here!" before drummer Ian Paice responded, "You're a drummer: we are friends!"
Takaichi, who took up drums in high school before joining an all-female outfit whose repertoire included UFO classics Rock Bottom and Doctor Doctor, plus Rainbow's I Surrender, responded by telling Paice, "You are my god!" and presenting him with a pair of signed drumsticks.
Article continues below"It's always a pleasure to come to Japan," said Paice. "And this time we have an added bonus."
"Deep Purple has always been a band I deeply admire," Takaichi told the band. "I bought Machine Head for the first time when I was in grade school, and I bought Smoke On The Water and Highway Star."
Last year, before she was elected Prime Minister, Takaichi appeared on Babymetal's Metal Radio, a Tokyo FM show hosted by Babymetal members Su-metal, Moametal and Momometal, and told them, "When I get irritated by my husband's choice of words or behaviour, I play the electronic drums after he's gone to bed. Burn by Deep Purple is a staple. I play songs like this to let off steam."
Deep Purple's next Japanese show is at the Mizuokadani Steel Machinery Public Hall in Nagoya, on Wednesday. European dates begin in June, with North American shows scheduled for August and September. Further European dates follow - full details below.
Deep Purple tour dates
Apr 15: Nagoya Mizuokadani Steel Machinery Public Hall, Japan
Apr 18: Jakarta Indonesia Arena GBK Senayan, Indonesia
Apr 22: Almaty Arena, Kazakhstan
Jun 11: Espoo Metro Arena, Finland
Jun 12: Tampere Nokia Arena, Finland
Jun 14: Kristiansand Dirty Old Town Live, Norway
Jun 18: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jun 20: Meppen Emsland Open Air, Germany
Jun 24: Mönchengladbach SparkassenPark, Germany
Jun 27: Coburg Open Air, Germany
Jun 28: Ulm Klosterhof Wiblingen, Germany
Jul 04: Gredos Músicos en la Naturaleza, Spain
Jul 05: Pamplona Navarra Arena, Spain
Jul 09: Málaga Starlite, Spain
Jul 10: Cádiz Tío Pepe, Spain
Jul 16: Pisa Summer Knights, Italy
Jul 17: Este Music Festival, Italy
Jul 19: München Tollwood Festival, Germany
Aug 04: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC
Aug 08: Clearwater The BayCare Sound, FL
Aug 09: Hollywood Hard Rock Casino, FL
Aug 12: Wantagh Jones Beach Theater, NY
Aug 13: Mansfield Xfinity Center, MA
Aug 15: Halifax Scotiabank Centre, NS
Aug 17: Laval Place Bell, QC
Aug 18: Toronto RBC Amphitheatre, ON
Aug 19: Ottawa Canadian Tire Center, ON
Aug 21: Detroit Pine Knob, MI
Aug 22: Salamanca Seneca Allegany Casino, NY
Aug 24: Indianapolis Everwise Amphitheatre, IN
Aug 25: Highland Park Ravinia, IL
Aug 27: Prior Lake Mystic Lake Casino, MN
Aug 29: Winnipeg Canada Life Centre, MB
Aug 31: Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome, AB
Sep 02: Abbotsford Abbotsford Centre, BC
Sep 04: Lincoln Thunder Valley, CA
Sep 05: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Sep 06: Highland Yaamava Theatre, CA
Sep 08: Chula Vista North Island Credit Union Amp, CA
Sep 10: Las Vegas Planet Hollywood, NV
Sep 11: Long Beach Long Beach Amphitheater, CA
Sep 12: Sparks Nugget Event Center, NV
Sep 29: Sofia 8888 Arena, Bulgaria
Oct 01: Cluj BT Arena, Romania
Oct 02: Budapest Laszlo Papp Arena, Hungary
Oct 04: Bratislava Tipos Arena, Slovakia
Oct 05: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria
Oct 07: Prague O2 Arena, Czechia
Oct 08: Lodz Atlas Arena, Poland
Oct 10: Belgrade Stark Arena, Serbia
Oct 11: Skopje Boris Trajkovski Arena, Macedonia
Oct 13: Athens Telekom Centre Arena, Greece
Oct 16: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Oct 17: Milan Unipol Forum, Italy
Oct 19: Barcelona Sant Jordi Club, Spain
Oct 22: Paris Adidas Arena, France
Oct 23: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
Oct 25: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Oct 26: Stockholm Avicii Arena, Sweden
Oct 28: Oslo Spektrum Arena, Norway
Oct 29: Gothenburg Scandinavium, Sweden
Oct 31: Leipzig QI Arena, Germany
Nov 01: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Nov 03: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Nov 04: Berlin Uber Arena, Germany
Nov 06: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Nov 07: Nuremberg Arena, Germany
Nov 09: Amsterdam Ziggodome, Netherlands
Nov 10: Strasbourg Zenith, France
Nov 12: Bordeaux Arkéa Arena, France
Nov 13: Nantes Zenith, France
Nov 15: Lyon LDLC Arena, France
Nov 18: Newcastle Utilita Arena, UK
Nov 19: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Nov 21: Birmingham BP Pulse Arena, UK
Nov 22: Manchester AO Arena, UK
Nov 24: London Eventim Apollo, UK
Nov 25: London Royal Albert Hall, UK
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