Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling coalition swept to a decisive election victory on Sunday, clearing the way for proposed tax cuts and expanded military spending that have already unsettled financial markets and heightened tensions with China.
Projections by public broadcaster NHK showed Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party winning as many as 328 of the 465 seats in the lower house. The LDP crossed the 233-seat majority threshold within two hours of polls closing. Moreover, with coalition partner Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, the government is set to secure a supermajority, significantly easing the passage of legislation.
“This election involved major shifts in economic, fiscal and security policy,” Takaichi said in a televised interview. She added that public support placed a responsibility on her government to implement these policies decisively.
The 64-year-old leader, Japan’s first female prime minister, called the rare winter snap election to capitalise on strong approval ratings since taking charge of the LDP late last year. Voters responded to her direct style and emphasis on leadership, despite concerns over her nationalist positions and assertive security agenda.
Markets uneasy as voters brave snow
Record snowfall across parts of the country failed to deter turnout, although severe weather disrupted transport and forced some polling stations to close early. Outside a polling station in Niigata prefecture, voter Kazushige Cho said Takaichi offered “a sense of direction” that resonated with him.
However, investors remain wary of her pledge to suspend the 8 per cent sales tax on food, questioning how Japan will fund the plan given its heavy public debt. Takaichi said her government would move quickly on tax relief while maintaining fiscal discipline.
Analysts warned that funding details remained unclear, even as the election result handed Takaichi a strong mandate to pursue her agenda at home and abroad.
