She served in the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature) as a member of the Democratic Party of Japan.

Takai was born in Miyoshi District, Tokushima and graduated from Waseda University.

In April 2015, Takai ran for the Miyoshi 1st district in the Tokushima Prefecture Assembly, as an Independent candidate endorsed by the DPJ.

On May 2, 2021, Takai resigned from the Tokushima Prefectural Assembly and announced her candidacy for Mayor of Miyoshi.

[3] Kamon Iizumi, who was the governor of Tokushima at that time and Shunichi Yamaguchi, who is the House of Representatives member of LDP and once competed with her, announced their support for her.