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Japan PM Sanae Takaichi's party secures landslide victory in lower house
Apart from LDP’s own numbers, its new ally, Japan Innovation Party also won 36 seats, following which, the LDP-run coalition has secured victory in 352 seats.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured a landslide victory in the lower house of the country’s Parliament on Sunday in the snap elections called last month.
The LDP secured a thumping two-thirds majority in the lower house, mostly thanks to Takaichi’s popularity in the country, reported Japanese media.
Following her resounding victory, Takaichi said during her interview with Japan’s public television network NHK that she is ready to pursue policies that will make Japan strong and prosperous, reported news agency Associated Press.
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What numbers say
The lower house of Japan’s Parliament has 465 seats, out of which, the LDP alone won 316 seats by early Monday and surpassed the majority mark of 261 seats by emerging as the single largest party. With this resounding victory, the party has broken the record of 300 seats won by Japan’s former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone in 1986. The number also marks a record since the party’s inception in 1955.
Apart from LDP’s own big numbers, its new ally, Japan Innovation Party also won 36 seats, following which, the LDP-run coalition has secured victory in 352 seats, which is way over two-thirds majority.
Even though Takaichi’s party does not have a majority in the upper house, her gains in the snap elections as compared to pre-election levels in the lower house will give her enough buoyancy to push ahead with her right-wing policies which focus on strengthening Japan’s economy and military capabilities, the report added. This comes amid Japan’s widening tensions with China and Takaichi’s efforts to stay close to the United States.
Takaichi took the gamble of snap elections just three months into the office as the LDP was struggling for support recently over corruption and election concerns even after ruling the country for decades.
She said “will be flexible” and would try to gain the confidence of the opposition while standing firm on her policies.
(With inputs from Associated Press)
