With yesterday's landslide victory, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will be able to advance her electoral platform, potentially opening the door to constitutional reform. The prime minister has also proposed cutting consumption taxes and boosting the defence forces. Analysts believe that tensions with China in recent months had an impact on results.

Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won enough seats to push forward her conservative platform, after her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured a two-third majority in the House of Representatives (lower house) in yesterday's elections.

With 316 of 465 seats, the LDP will now be able to amend the Constitution and approve bills even if they are rejected by the House of Councillors (upper house), where the governing coalition remains in the minority.

The victory was so overwhelming that the centre-right party was forced to concede 14 seats to opposition parties because it had failed to field enough candidates in seats allocated through proportional representation.

Despite a campaign lasting only three weeks, the victory was made possible by Takaichi's high approval ratings of nearly 70 per cent compared to 40 per cent for her party.

The prime minister, also popular among young voters, first came to power in October.

Seeking to overcome the scandals that have plagued the party in recent years, she immediately proposed a "responsible yet aggressive" fiscal policy and a reform of the Japanese Armed Forces in response to security threats from China.

Observers now expect an increase in public spending, but it remains to be seen whether the promise to suspend the 8 per cent consumption tax on food for two years will be kept.

Some economists have expressed concern over the proposal, because once the tax is lowered, it could be difficult to introduce it again, potentially further increasing the public debt-to-GDP ratio.

Several analysts argue that Takaichi exploited widespread public discontent with the Ministry of Finance, which has maintained fiscal austerity policies to prevent a rise in debt. She caused some market uncertainty after ruling out issuing new debt without clarifying what funding the government will use to promote public spending.

After her election victory, Takaichi also stated that she has no intention of making major changes to the cabinet, which has ridden a wave of popularity since taking office.

The LDP’s coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), added one seat to its previous 34, but had agreed not to take ministerial positions. The two parties together control three quarters of the Lower House.

The centrist alliance – formed by the union of Komeito (a party close to the Buddhist community that was allied with the LDP's for 26 years) and the Constitutional Democratic Party to counter Takaichi – saw its seats halved, forcing leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito to hint at resigning.

The far-right Sanseito party, which focused on anti-migrant rhetoric and the need to revitalise the military, increased its seat count from two to 13.

According to Kyodo News, voter turnout stood at 56.23 per cent, up by about 2 percentage points over the previous election, despite heavy snowfall in several parts of the country apparently preventing some people from voting.

According to some observers, China's stance in recent months favoured Takaichi's victory.

The already complicated relations between Tokyo and Beijing worsened in November 2025, when Takaichi stated that any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan by force would pose a “survival threatening situation” to Japan.

Since then, China has issued travel advisories its citizens about visiting Japan, and restricted trade with its neighbour, decisions that only boosted Takaichi's popularity, similar to what happened in the recent election in Thailand, where the incumbent prime minister's party won by capitalising on the nationalist momentum sparked by border clashes with Cambodia.

Meanwhile, in China, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the vote was an "internal affair" for Japan, but added that the election reflected "deep-seated and structural problems" and "ideological currents” in the country.

After polls closed, the People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's English-language newspaper, reiterated that Takaichi's claims regarding threats to Taiwan's security were "erroneous" and expressed concern about the prime minister's desire to amend Article 9 of the Japanese constitution (imposed by the United States in 1947 after the end of World War II), which limits the role of the Japanese armed forces to a defensive role.

Since it was founded in 1955, the LDP has called for an independent constitution to replace the current one, a process that has always been hindered by left-leaning parties in parliament who held at least a third of the seats.

• japan
• elections
• representatives
• councillors
• prime minister
• sanae takaichi
• armed forces
• constitution
• china
• taiwan
• security