3 minute read
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party won more than a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives in Sunday's election, scoring a historic landslide victory that will give Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a major boost in pushing ahead with her conservative policy agenda, Kyodo news agency reported.
The sharp gain in seats, from 198 before the election to 315, was apparently made possible by Takaichi's personal popularity, setting the stage for her to stay on as premier after taking office last October, according to Kyodo.
The LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, gained a huge presence in the 465-member chamber with 351 seats.
The election, meanwhile, dealt a debilitating blow to the newly launched major opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, prompting its co-leaders Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito to suggest they could resign, after the outcome saw its seats plunge from 167 to 49.
At a press conference on Monday morning, Noda, a former prime minister under the government led by the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan, said the result was "an extremely bitter blow."
Crossing the two-thirds majority line of 310 seats in the lower house means the LDP, the first party to achieve the feat in postwar Japan, can move toward amending the Constitution and enact bills even if they are rejected by the House of Councillors, where the ruling coalition remains in a minority, according to Kyodo.
Amid prolonged inflation and a growingly severe international environment, Takaichi has promised to pursue a "responsible yet aggressive" fiscal policy and boost the nation's defense capabilities.
"We bear an extremely heavy responsibility to focus on steadily delivering on the campaign pledges we have made," Kyodo quoted Takaichi as saying during a TV program Sunday after the LDP's victory was reported.
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, Kyodo reported citing the internal affairs ministry.
Nearly 1,300 candidates vied for the 465 seats, with 289 elected from single-seat constituencies and 176 through proportional representation, where seats are allocated for parties based on votes received in 11 regional blocks across Japan.
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.