Japan’s Takaichi set to claim sweeping mandate with coalition supermajority: reports
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The news: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is on course for a sweeping mandate after her ruling coalition secured 310 seats in Japan’s 465-member lower house in Sunday's snap election, according to results analysed by NHK, the public broadcaster, and cited by global media.
That gives the coalition a two-thirds supermajority and allows Takaichi to push through fiscal, defence and other policies without relying on opposition support, and potentially initiate constitutional change.
Speaking to reporters at LDP headquarters after polls closed on Sunday, Takaichi said she would accelerate talks on suspending the country’s 8% sales tax on food and submit a bill to parliament if agreement is reached.
While Takaichi was speaking at LDP headquarters, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama gave a televised interview saying Japan must take a “professional” approach to using its foreign reserves to fund spending and tax cuts, as doing so would not be easy. She said the government may seek dialogue with markets on Monday and would decide the most effective use of reserves based on market conditions.
The context: The LDP’s decisive win came after a mid-winter snap election called 16 days earlier and held amid record snowfall, which led to early polling station closures and turnout below previous levels.
The vote followed rising voter frustration over living costs, tensions with China, and concerns over the fiscal impact of Takaichi’s stimulus plans.
In an interview with NHK after polls closed, Takaichi said her economic policies marked “a major shift” and that she had felt compelled to call the snap election to seek a mandate from taxpayers. “I felt that I could not proceed without first seeking a mandate,” she said.
Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump endorsed Takaichi and said he plans to host her at the White House on 19 March.
The sources: Reuters, The New York Times, Bloomberg
