{"id":19971,"date":"2026-02-08T19:20:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T19:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=19971"},"modified":"2026-02-08T19:20:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T19:20:51","slug":"sanae-takaichis-conservatives-cement-power-in-landslide-japan-election-win-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=19971","title":{"rendered":"Sanae Takaichi\u2019s conservatives cement power in landslide Japan election win | Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Japan\u2019s conservative governing coalition has dramatically strengthened its grip on power after a landslide victory in Sunday\u2019s elections in what will be seen as an early public endorsement of the new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Her Liberal Democratic party (LDP) was projected to win as many as 328 of the 465 seats in parliament\u2019s lower house, well above the 233 it needed to regain the majority it lost in 2024. With her coalition partner, the Japan<\/a> Innovation party, she now has a supermajority of two-thirds of seats, easing her legislative agenda as she can override the upper chamber, which she does not control.<\/p>\n

A smiling Takaichi placed a red ribbon above each winner\u2019s name on a signboard at the LDP\u2019s headquarters as accompanying party executives applauded.<\/p>\n

The 64-year-old, who called a snap election<\/a> soon after becoming Japan\u2019s first female prime minister<\/a> last autumn, had vowed to resign if her coalition failed to secure a simple majority in the vote, which was held on a freezing day when many parts of the country were again hit by heavy snow.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>A voter at a polling station in Uonuma, Niigata prefecture. <\/span> Photograph: Manami Yamada\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She will not, however, have long to savour her party\u2019s victory. There are concerns over her management of Japan\u2019s public finances and her ability to defuse a bitter row with China over the future of Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Takaichi sought to appeal to voters with a 21tn yen (\u00a399bn) stimulus package aimed at easing the cost of living crisis, later promising to suspend the 8% consumption (sales) tax on food for two years \u2013 a 5tn-yen hit to annual revenue.<\/p>\n

Her spending plans have rattled financial markets and caused currency volatility, prompting some commentators to question her approach given that Japan\u2019s debt is more than twice the size of its gross domestic product \u2013 the heaviest debt burden of any advanced economy.<\/p>\n

Speaking as exit polls showed her party cruising to victory, Takaichi, an admirer of Margaret Thatcher, said: <\/strong>\u201cWe have consistently stressed the importance of responsible and proactive fiscal policy. We will prioritise the sustainability of fiscal policy. We will ensure necessary investments. Public and private sectors must invest. We will build a strong and resilient economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>An election official empties a ballot box at a counting station in Tokyo.<\/span> Photograph: Xinhua\/Shutterstock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a whirlwind introduction to diplomacy \u2013 including meetings with Donald Trump and Xi Jinping late last year \u2013 Takaichi sparked a row with Beijing in November when she suggested Japan could become involved militarily<\/a> in the event of a Chinese attempt to invade Taiwan.<\/p>\n

China urged tourists not to visit Japan \u2013 advice they have heeded<\/a> \u2013 and young people not to study there, citing \u201csafety concerns\u201d. The dispute has disrupted cultural exchanges and even brought an end to decades of \u201cpanda diplomacy<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Takaichi\u2019s refusal to withdraw her remarks may have angered Beijing<\/a>, but it has played well with many voters.<\/p>\n

Margarita Est\u00e9vez-Abe, an associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, said Sunday\u2019s victory could give Takaichi room to repair the damage to Sino-Japanese ties.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>An election official prepares to open ballot boxes at a counting centre in Tokyo.<\/span> Photograph: Takashi Aoyama\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cNow she doesn\u2019t have to worry about any elections until 2028, when the next upper house elections will take place,\u201d Est\u00e9vez-Abe said. \u201cSo the best scenario for Japan is that Takaichi kind of takes a deep breath and focuses on amending the relationship with China.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if she follows through with the consumption tax cut, the market reaction could be swift and hostile, according to some analysts.<\/p>\n

Takaichi\u2019s big victory means she will have more political room to follow through on key commitments such as consumption-tax cuts, said Seiji Inada, the managing director at the consultancy FGS Global. \u201cMarkets could react in the following days, and the yen could come under renewed pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blizzard conditions in some regions made visiting a polling station in Sunday\u2019s election, the first held in mid-winter<\/a> for 35 years, a test of endurance for many voters.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Sanae Takaichi adjusts her earphone before talking to the media at her party\u2019s headquarters in Tokyo.<\/span> Photograph: Kim Kyung-Hoon\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kazushige Cho, a 54-year-old teacher, said he had been determined to vote for the LDP despite the atrocious weather. \u201cShe [Takaichi] has shown strong leadership and pushes various policies forward,\u201d Cho said outside a polling station in a small town in Niigata prefecture where the snow had reached a depth of more than 2 metres. \u201cI think things could turn out quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The weather, which is expected to contribute to a low turnout, caused widespread disruption on Sunday, halting services on dozens of train lines and forcing the cancellation of 230 domestic flights, according to the transport ministry.<\/p>\n

Turnout stood at 21.6% with four hours left before polls closed \u2013 2.65 percentage points lower than at the same time in the 2024 lower house election, the Nikkei business newspaper said, citing the internal affairs ministry.<\/p>\n

Takaichi\u2019s personal popularity \u2013 particularly among younger voters<\/a> \u2013 has transformed the LDP\u2019s fortunes since winning the race to succeed Shigeru Ishiba as the party\u2019s president in October.<\/p>\n

Under Ishiba, the LDP and its then coalition partner, Komeito, lost their majorities<\/a> in both houses of parliament amid public anger over a slush fund scandal<\/a> and the rising cost of food and other basics.<\/p>\n

The LDP, which has governed Japan for most of the past 70 years, was helped, as in previous elections, by a fractured and uninspiring opposition.<\/p>\n

The main opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, which was formed weeks before by two existing parties, was projected to sink to half of their combined pre-election share of 167 seats, leaving questions hanging over its future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Sanae #Takaichis #conservatives #cement #power #landslide #Japan #election #win #Japan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Japan\u2019s conservative governing… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19971"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}