Party of Japan's 'Iron Lady' regains majority in Japan
Exit polls indicate that the party of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who is officially backed by Donald Trump, is projected to obtain about 300 of the 465 seats in the Japanese Parliament and could govern alone.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, nicknamed Japan's "Iron Lady" is on course for a landslide victory in early elections, according to exit polls in Japanese media. These project that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) may win about 300 of the 465 seats at stake, which would allow it to govern without its coalition ally, the Innovation Party.
If these results are confirmed, the LDP, which has dominated Japanese politics for decades, would go from 198 seats to its best performance since 2017 when it was led by Takaichi's mentor, Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in 2022.
Takaichi, the first woman to rule Japan, vowed Sunday to pursue responsible fiscal policy, after early earnings reports spooked markets and sent Japanese government bond yields soaring.
"Responsible and proactive fiscal policy"
"We have constantly stressed the importance of responsible and proactive fiscal policy," Takaichi said in a televised appearance, saying she wants to "build a strong and resilient economy."
However, she has yet to improve Asia's second-largest economy, a factor that led to the departure of her two predecessors. "With prices rising, what matters most to me is what policies they will adopt to cope with inflation," Chika Sakamoto, a 50-year-old voter, told AFP.
After a $135 billion stimulus package to alleviate the effects of inflation, the main cause of voter discontent, Takaichi promised during the campaign to suspend the consumption tax on food.
Japan's debt is twice the size of its economy and, in recent weeks, interest on long-term bonds hit record highs.
Trump's endorsement
On Jan. 19, she announced the dissolution of the lower house of Japan's congress, triggering a 16-day lightning campaign. Takaichi took office in October following the resignation of her predecessor and has since succeeded in charming new voters, including young people.
A 'hawk' in the face of China
In foreign policy, Takaichi is considered a "hawk" regarding her stance on China. After only two weeks in office, she suggested that Japan might intervene militarily if Beijing tried to take Taiwan by force.
China considers the democratically ruled island to be part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to regain it. Beijing's reaction to her statements was to summon Tokyo's ambassador and warn its citizens not to visit Japan. It also carried out joint air maneuvers with Russia.
Margarita Estevez-Abe, an associate scholar and political science expert at Syracuse University in the United States, noted that the episode with China bolstered Takaichi's popularity.
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