Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling party won two out of three seats in key parliamentary elections on Sunday, Japanese media reported citing preliminary results, a landslide victory thanks to his popularity.
Takaichi, in a televised interview with public television network NHK following his landslide victory, said he is now ready to pursue policies to make Japan strong and prosperous.
NHK, citing vote count results, said Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, alone had won 316 seats early Monday, well ahead of the 261-seat total in the 465-member lower house, the most powerful in Japan’s bicameral parliament. That marks a record since the party was founded in 1955 and surpasses the previous record of 300 seats won in 1986 by the late prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.
With 36 seats won by its new coalition, the Japan Innovation Party, Takaichi’s ruling coalition won 352 seats.
A smiling Takaichi placed a large red ribbon above each winner’s name on a signboard at LDP headquarters, as fellow party leaders applauded.
Despite the lack of a majority in the other chamber, the upper house, a big jump from the pre-election phase in the upper house will allow Takaichi to make progress on a right-wing agenda aimed at improving Japan’s economy and military power as tensions grow with China and he tries to boost ties with the United States.
Takaichi said he will try to gain support from the opposition while firmly pushing his policy goals forward.
“I will be flexible,” he said.
Takaichi is very popular, but the ruling LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the past seven decades, has struggled with financial and religious scandals in recent years. He called Sunday’s first election only after three months in office, hoping to turn that around while his popularity is high.
Congratulations @takaichi_sanae to your decisive victory in Japan’s general election.
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The frugal Takaichi, who took office as Japan’s first female leader in October, has pledged to “work, work, work” and her style, considered playful and tough, has resonated with younger fans who say they were previously indifferent to politics.
The opposition, despite the formation of a new centrist coalition and the rise of a far-right party, was too fragmented to pose a real challenge. The new opposition coalition of the LDP coalition, the Buddhist-backed Komeito, and the liberal-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan are expected to sink to half their pre-election share of a combined 167 seats.
Takaichi was betting in this election that his LDP party, and its new partner, the JIP, would get a majority.
Akihito Iwatake, a 53-year-old office worker, said he welcomed the LDP’s big win because he felt the party had become more relaxed in the past few years. “Since Takaichi has changed things a lot on the Conservative side, I think that has brought this positive result,” he said.
Takaichi’s policies
The prime minister wants to push for a radical shift to the right in Japan’s security, immigration and other policies. His right-wing LDP colleague, JIP leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, said his party would act as an “accelerator” for the crackdown.
Japan has recently seen far-right populists gain power, such as the anti-globalization party and the growing nationalist party Sanseito. The exit polls showed a huge advantage for Sanseito.
Takaichi’s first major task when the lower house reconvenes in mid-February is to work on a budget bill, delayed by the election, to support economic measures that address rising costs and sluggish wages.
Takaichi promised to revise security and defense policies in December to strengthen Japan’s offensive capabilities, lift the arms embargo and move away from the country’s postwar goals.
He has been pushing for tougher policies on foreigners, counter-espionage and other measures that reach far-flung audiences, but which experts say could undermine human rights.
Takaichi also wants to increase the money spent on defense in response to the pressure of US President Donald Trump for Japan to loosen its ties.
You now have time to work on these policies, with no elections until 2028.
Although Takaichi has said he wants to win support for policies seen as divisive in Japan, he has largely avoided discussing ways to finance rising military spending, resolving political tensions with China and other issues.
His shift to the right is unlikely to reorient Japan’s foreign policy and Takaichi is expected to maintain good relations with South Korea, given shared concerns about threats from North Korea and China.
But Seoul will worry about Japan’s attempt to revise the country’s anti-war constitution or continue to build up the military because of Japan’s wartime past, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
Tensions between China and Japan are on the rise over recent comments by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, compounded by a long-standing dispute over the chain of uninhabited islands. Andrew Chang reveals why these small islands are so important, how Taiwan fits in and how the conflict has pushed two of Asia’s biggest powers to a tipping point. Photos provided by The Canadian Press, Reuters and Getty Images
In his campaign speeches, Takaichi spoke passionately about the need for immediate government spending to fund “risk management and growth investments,” such as measures to strengthen economic security, technology and other industries. Takaichi also wants to push for tougher measures on immigration, including tougher requirements for foreign property owners and a break for foreign residents.
Sunday’s election “underscores a problematic trend in Japanese politics where political survival is more important than policy outcomes,” said Masato Kamikubo, a politics professor at Ritsumeikan University. “Whenever the government tries necessary but unpopular reforms … the next election is approaching.”
Sunday’s vote coincided with snowfall across the country, including Tokyo. Snowfall in northern Japan over the past few weeks has blocked roads and been blamed for many deaths across the country.
