Japan's ruling party wins landslide victory in elections
Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, won a landslide victory in Sunday's parliamentary elections. According to forecasts by national broadcaster NHK, the party won about 300 seats in the lower house of parliament, significantly exceeding the minimum of 233 seats needed to form a majority.
Together with its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, the ruling bloc can count on approximately 310 seats out of 465, giving it two-thirds of the votes. This result allows the coalition to overcome resistance from the upper house of parliament, which is controlled by the opposition.
Sanae Takaichi called early elections in January, hoping to strengthen the government's position after a difficult period for the LDP, which was accompanied by scandals and the growing influence of the opposition. Despite this, voters supported the prime minister's course, in particular her active fiscal policy and intentions to strengthen the country's defence capabilities.
After the first forecasts were announced, Takaichi said that her main foreign policy priority remains deepening the alliance with the United States. She announced plans to visit the White House in the spring and continue cooperation with the American administration in the field of security.
The election results were the best for the LDP since 2017. Analysts note that such a mandate means a further shift in Japanese politics to the right and creates conditions for more active promotion of the government's legislative initiatives.
The elections took place amid difficult weather conditions. A number of regions in the country experienced record snowfall, which made access to polling stations difficult and resulted in dozens of deaths.
