Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said Monday that the ruling bloc's landslide victory in the House of Representatives election gives her government a public mandate for "important policy shifts."
Takaichi told a press conference a day after the election that Japan needs to depart from its "excessive fiscal austerity" by implementing her "responsible yet aggressive" fiscal policies, and that the ruling camp led by the Liberal Democratic Party will continue to seek cooperation from opposition parties as it remains in a minority in the House of Councillors.
She also expressed readiness to work toward amending the pacifist Constitution, the LDP's long-held goal, as the ruling camp's two-thirds majority in the election moved it closer to having the power to initiate constitutional revision.
Proposals to amend the Constitution need the backing of at least two thirds of legislators in both chambers of parliament to be put to a national referendum. The next upper house election is scheduled for 2028.
The LDP and its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, aim to introduce an emergency clause into the Constitution that would give the government greater powers in the event of a major disaster or armed attack.
The LDP has also been calling for clarification of the legal status of the Self-Defense Forces to put an end to the debate over whether they are unconstitutional.
"Yesterday, I received strong encouragement from the public to go ahead with policy shifts, and I would like to extend my sincere gratitude," Takaichi said. "There is no future for a nation that does not take on challenges."
On the LDP's campaign pledge to suspend the 8 percent consumption tax on food products for two years, Takaichi said that her government will advance discussions on its schedule and funding source at a cross-party national council, aiming to reach an interim conclusion by summer.
With approval ratings for Takaichi's cabinet remaining high since she took office in October, the LDP and the JIP gained a combined 352 seats, including one independent member who was later endorsed by the LDP on Sunday.
By party, the LDP secured 316 seats, up from 198 it had held, while the JIP, known as Nippon Ishin, increased its seat total by two to 36. The two parties did not coordinate their candidates in the election.
The two parties' coalition had only a razor-thin majority in the lower house with the support of some independents before it was dissolved late last month.
The election, meanwhile, dealt a debilitating blow to the newly launched major opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, whose seats plunged from 167 to 49, prompting its co-leaders, Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito, to announce their intention to resign at a joint press conference on Monday.
Noda, a former prime minister, said he will "take responsibility for this historic defeat" and that the party's new leadership will be decided by Feb. 18, when the government and the ruling parties are considering convening a special parliamentary session.
At the outset of the special session, Takaichi is expected to be reelected as prime minister. She has said she has no plans to change the cabinet lineup, while effectively urging the JIP to field a minister.
The JIP decided not to take cabinet posts when forming the coalition in October, apparently reflecting a cautious stance toward the LDP.
The Sanseito party, a populist group known for its "Japanese First" slogan, secured 15 seats, up from 2 before the election, while Team Mirai, which advocates adopting digital technologies to enhance political participation, won its first seats in the lower house with 11.
Voter turnout stood at 56.26 percent in the constituencies and 56.25 percent in the proportional representation section, against 53.85 percent and 53.84 percent, respectively, in the previous election, the internal affairs ministry said.
Early voting received a boost as a record 27.02 million people cast their ballots in the days prior to Sunday, up around 6 million from the lower house election in 2024.
© KYODO
25 Comments
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jib
Her mandate is Abe version 2
onedragon
The people seem to like her.
mii
She hasn't been chosen yet, where is the landslide victory? Again, as I said, and it is common that her fate is not decided by Japanese majority but by a handful few of few, less 300 people to be exact, or even less. All she needs is the nod from the magnificent one.
Will_Rendle
miiToday 07:25 am JST
The Diet vote is usually just a formality. It certainly will be in this case.
The LDP got it on Sunday.
Monty
Let's see what the future for us living here in Japan will bring with her as a prime minister.
Hopefully expenses for our daily life will decrease and our salaries at work will increase.
I know that salaries at work is mainly the company's topic, but I hope she can push this topic and give pressure to the companies to increase the salaries.
stormcrow
The lady’s got balls.
deanzaZZR
welp
William77
Basically in Japan there is only the right,far-right and then nothing.
It is preoccupying as any healthy democracy has a robust opposition as well.
OssanAmerica
The JSDF has existed since 1954 and is ranked the 6th strongest military in the world. Yet the second paragraph of Article 9 declares that Japan will not maintain any military.
This blatant contradiction has necessitated legal squirming to get anything done and provided fodder for opposition parties to object to just about anything involving the JSDF on constitutional grounds.
This contradictory second paragraph must go. It was the declared objective of the Abe administration, which was pounded by the Japanese left and anti-JP China who exaggerated it into a "return to militarism". It is not, it simply corrects a contradiction.
The first paragraph of Article 9 which prohibits Japan from starting any wars should remain. In fact it should serve as an example for all other countries who seem to think that starting wars is some inalienable right. And this includes my country under the present unfit leadership.
mii
Totally nonsense. If China anti Japan, then just let it destroy itself. Quite opposite, china wants to have genuine neighborhood that all Eastern people have the best quality of life, including Takaichi herself. It is international laws that must be obeyed. Japan for the past 80 years boast rule of laws, now it is time to practice it.
Namorada
So wait…moves on the constitution are a definite, but fixing the fact that the cost of living is getting worse for a lot of people…that needs more discussion.
Forgive me, but I suspect people voted for her to deal with the financial situation they are facing. So naturally, she will squander her success on the constitution and not do much to help the lives of everyday people.
And, austerity!! Since when? Japan has been throwing money around like some Freeter in a pachinko parlor.
TaiwanIsNotChina
China is the one that violates international laws, most notably in the South China Sea.
mii
Totally nonsense. China claimed all South china see island long long ago. In fact, after war Japan returned all of them occupied during the war back to China, including Taiwan island. Now the same Japan violated its own laws to support Filipinos to fight against China . Japan never cease it's anti China policy, as simple as that.
dan
Nothing on downsizing the government then I see !
Disgusting.
Longhaul
Tell me you don’t understand Japanese politics without telling me.
To claim Japan is just 'right vs. far-right' is a lazy, surface-level take. If you actually looked at the Diet, you’d see:
The CDP: A center-left opposition that pushes hard on gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and nuclear phase-outs.
The JCP: One of the largest non-governing Communist parties in the world, consistently pulling the needle on labor rights.
Reiwa Shinsengumi: A populist left-wing movement focused on massive welfare expansion and disability rights.
The LDP is a massive 'big tent' party. It contains everything from hawkish nationalists to dovish liberals who prioritize trade and diplomacy over revisionism. Takaichi winning a mandate is a shift within that spectrum, not a sign that the rest of the spectrum doesn't exist.
Maybe spend less time online and more time reading the actual policy platforms.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Which is, wait for it, a violation of international law.
OssanAmerica
Good. Shinzo Abe coined the "Free and Open Indo-Paciific" concept in 2016 to counter China's expansionist agenda and it was adopted by the US State Department in 2019. The UK and EU adopted it in 2021.
There is very little wonder as to why Xi Jing Ping both hates and fears PM Takaichi. Looks like this election has ensured further unilateral hostile behavior from China.
OssanAmerica
Nonsense. The territories as mandated in the Cairo and Postdam declarations were returned by Japan to The Republic of China. Your "China" the PRC did not even exist until 4 years after WWII ended.
Simple and dead wrong. Nothing in Japanese law prevents Japan from supporting other nations provided it does not violate the constitution.
Curious George
I wondered why the snap election. Now I see it was to gain the majority of voting rights to secure the ability to make policy change. Specifically remilitarization.
nickybutt
Soon they will be able to take the SD out of JSDF.
OssanAmerica
Japan has already been "militarized" siince 1954. Removing the existing contradiction in Article 9 is not "remilitarization".
William77
I think the lazy one is you as either you don’t live here or you are not paying well attention to the political events of this country.
In the last seven decades the LDP ruled almost for the entire time expect a few brief times,and the LDP although has different souls it has a centre right-right spectrum.
The political situation now is even more clear these days, LDP,Ishin and other minors parties are keen to a firmly conservative agenda,and then you have Sanseito that was basically a portion of the far right part of LDP that is gaining even more popularity.
On the other hand the centre-left got even shrunk with the new centre CRA got low votes.
u_s__reamer
Rewriting the constitution to restore the government's right to make war may be the mandate Takaichi has in mind, introduced into Japan's "democracy" with the soft feminine touch of a Trojan chicken-hawk, but to balance this power that was once abused by a former Japanese government which wiped out a whole generation of Japanese youth in the Pacific War, the people of Japan need a constitution that enshrines their right to overthrow a tyrannical government by any means necessary. Without this latter guarantee the people should be afraid, very afraid.
onedragon
Look how upset Aso is in the back. Looking very disappointed that a woman has more power than him.
proxy
She is correct, she has a very strong mandate. The bureaucracy in Japan is pretty slim but cuts will have to be made it programs somewhere to pay for the military build up. Granny is gonna be eating a lot of cup noodle.