Tokyo (dpa/AFP/AP) - Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, scored the biggest election victory in its history, winning more than two-thirds of seats in the powerful lower house of parliament, Japanese media reported on Monday.

The landslide makes the LDP the first party in post-war Japan to secure such a supermajority on its own in the 465-seat House of Representatives, giving the conservative leader sweeping political power just months after she became the country's first female prime minister in late October.

With more than the 310 seats needed for a two-thirds majority, the LDP can push through legislation even if it is rejected by the upper house and can initiate constitutional amendments. The governing coalition, made up of the LDP and the right-wing Japan Innovation Party, or Ishin, remains a minority in the upper chamber.

Takaichi, in an interview with public television network NHK following her victory, said her efforts will make Japan strong and prosperous. NHK, citing vote count results, said Takaichi’s LDP alone secured 316 seats by early Monday. With the 36 seats won by Ishin, the ruling coalition won 352 seats. A smiling Takaichi placed a big red ribbon above each winner’s name on a signboard at LDP headquarters as accompanying party executives applauded.

Opposition was too splintered

The opposition, despite the formation of a new centrist alliance and a rising far-right, was too splintered to be a real challenger. The new opposition alliance of LDP’s former coalition partner, Buddhist-backed dovish Komeito, and the liberal-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, is projected to sink to half of their combined preelection share of 167 seats.

The LDP, which has governed almost continuously since 1955, had lost its majority in both houses of parliament in previous elections amid a series of scandals and had recently relied on Ishin to govern with a slim margin.

The result makes more likely a long-sought revision of the landmark Article 9 of Japan's constitution, which commits the country to "renounce war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as a means of settling international disputes."

A security hardliner, Takaichi has called for closer ties with the United States and for strengthening the country's armed forces to counter China's growing influence in Asia.

Stock market also reaches record high

Tokyo stocks surged to a record high on Monday. The Nikkei 225 index of leading shares jumped more than 5% to surpass 57,000 points for the first time, trading up 2,872.56 points, or 5.29%, at 57,126.24 after 20 minutes of trading. Takaichi is known for aggressive fiscal policies, which investors have welcomed.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed a "big victory" for Takaichi, declaring that a strong Japan makes the United States "strong in Asia." Takaichi was endorsed by President Donald Trump ahead of the vote. "The prime minister called a snap election... and boy, has she had a big victory today," Bessent said on Fox News show "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo.

Japan Election — Election officials open ballot boxes as they prepare to count the votes in the lower house election in Tokyo on February 8, 2026.(Photo: Louise Delmotte/AP)

On Thursday, when Trump delivered his endorsement of Takaichi via social media, he also took the unusual step of announcing before the results of the voting that she would visit the White House in Washington on March 19.

Takaichi on Sunday thanked Trump for his "warm words" endorsing her, writing on X that "the potential of our Alliance is LIMITLESS." Takaichi is viewed as a hawk on China, America's chief strategic rival, and has suggested that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take self-ruled Taiwan by force.

Expert sees "problematic trend in Japanese politics"

Takaichi has pledged to revise security and defense policies by December to bolster Japan’s offensive military capabilities, lifting a ban on weapons exports and moving further away from the country’s postwar pacifist principles. She has been pushing for tougher policies on foreigners, anti-espionage and other measures that resonate with a far-right audience, but ones that experts say could undermine civil rights. Takaichi also wants to increase defense spending in response to Trump’s pressure for Japan to spend more.

She now has time to work on these policies, without an election until 2028.

Sunday's election “underscores a problematic trend in Japanese politics in which political survival takes priority over substantive policy outcomes,” said Masato Kamikubo, a Ritsumeikan University politics professor. “Whenever the government attempts necessary but unpopular reforms ... the next election looms.”

Author: palazzo.chiara

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