Japan’s Sanae Takaichi wins snap election in landslide

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a snap election on Sunday, securing a landslide and a resounding mandate for her economic policies and tough stances on immigration and China. The Liberal Democratic Party captured an absolute majority in the 465-member House of Representatives, winning at least 310 seats, up from 198, NHK said.

Ms. Takaichi called the vote 110 days after becoming Japan’s first woman prime minister. The result clears the way for a conservative agenda on defense and social issues. By joining forces with the Japan Innovation Party, Ms. Takaichi will likely be able to harness a supermajority to fast-track priorities and face few constraints as she pushes aggressive government spending programs and expansive national security laws, commentators said.

Her campaign has been marked by a high-profile foreign policy stance: she said Japan could intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan, prompting Chinese reprisals that restricted seafood imports, discouraged tourism and limited exports of critical minerals.

Japan

sanae takaichi, japan election, liberal democratic, representatives, innovation party, supermajority, immigration, china, taiwan, national security