Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), addresses the media in front of a sign with the names of LDP candidates at the LDP headquarters on general election day in Tokyo, Japan, February 8, 2026. | Photo credit: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Takaichi said in a television interview with public television channel NHK that after the landslide victory, she is now ready to continue her policies.
NHK, citing vote counting results, said Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, alone had won 316 seats by early Monday, easily surpassing the 261-seat absolute majority in the 465-member lower house, Japan’s most powerful bicameral parliament. That is a record since the party’s founding in 1955 and surpasses the previous record of 300 seats set by the late Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1986.
A smiling Takaichi placed a large red ribbon above each winner’s name on a signboard at LDP headquarters as accompanying party officials applauded.
Despite the lack of a majority in the other chamber, the upper house, the huge jump from the pre-election share in the superior lower house would allow Takaichi to make progress on a right-wing agenda that aims to boost Japan’s economy and military capabilities as tensions with China rise and it seeks to maintain ties with the United States.
Takaichi said she would resolutely pursue her policy goals while trying to gain support from the opposition.
“I will be flexible,” she said.
Takaichi is hugely popular, but the ruling LDP, which has ruled Japan for most of the past 70 years, has struggled with funding and religious scandals in recent years. She only called early elections after three months in office, hoping to change that now that her popularity is high.
Popular leader
The ultraconservative Takaichi, who took office in October as Japan’s first female leader, promised “work, work, work,” and her style, seen as playful and tough, has resonated with younger fans who say they were previously uninterested in politics.
The opposition, despite the formation of a new centrist alliance and a rising far right, was too fragmented to be a real challenger. The new opposition alliance of the LDP’s former coalition partner, the Buddhist-backed Dovish Komeito, and the liberal-leaning Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is expected to drop to half their combined share of the 167-seat primary.
Takaichi gambled in these elections that her LDP party, together with its new partner, the Japan Innovation Party, would win a majority.
Akihito Iwatake, a 53-year-old office worker, said he welcomed the LDP’s big victory because he felt the party had become too liberal in recent years. “Now that Takaichi has shifted things more to the conservative side, I think it has produced this positive outcome,” he said.
Takaichi’s policy
The prime minister wants to bring about a major shift to the right in Japan’s security, immigration and other policies. The LDP’s right-wing partner, JIP leader Hirofumi Yoshimura, has said his party will serve as an “accelerator” for this push.
Japan has recently seen far-right populists gain ground, such as the anti-globalist and rising nationalist Sanseito party. Exit polls predicted a big win for Sanseito.
Takaichi has pledged to revise security and defense policy by December to strengthen Japan’s offensive military capabilities, lift the ban on arms exports and move further away from the country’s post-war pacifist principles.
She has pushed for tougher policies on foreigners, anti-spying and other measures that resonate with a far-right audience but that experts say could undermine civil rights.
Takaichi also wants to increase defense spending in response to US President Donald Trump’s pressure on Japan to loosen the purse strings.
She now has time to work on these policies, without elections until 2028.
Divided policy
Although Takaichi said she is trying to drum up support for policies seen as divisive in Japan, she largely avoided discussing ways to finance rising military spending, how to resolve diplomatic tensions with China and other issues.
In her campaign speeches, Takaichi spoke enthusiastically about the need for proactive government spending to finance “investment and growth in crisis management,” such as measures to strengthen economic security, technology and other industries. Takaichi also wants to implement stricter immigration measures, including stricter requirements for foreign property owners and a cap on foreign residents.
Sunday’s elections “underscore a problematic trend in Japanese politics that prioritizes political survival over substantive policy outcomes,” said Masato Kamikubo, a professor of politics at Ritsumeikan University. “Every time the government implements necessary but unpopular reforms, the next election is just around the corner.”
Impact of snow
Sunday’s vote coincided with fresh snowfall across the country, including in Tokyo. Record snowfall in northern Japan in recent weeks blocked roads and was responsible for dozens of deaths across the country.
Published on February 8, 2026
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