Conservative Liberal Democratic Party, led by the prime minister, wins two-thirds of the seats in the lower house of Parliament.
The Liberal Democratic Party (PLD), led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, won a landslide victory in early elections held this Sunday (02/08) in Japan.
According to public broadcaster NHK, the LDP alone won 316 of the 465 seats in the Lower House of Parliament, the most powerful chamber in the Japanese legislative system.
The victory gives the PLD — which has governed the country almost uninterruptedly for decades — a two-thirds majority, an unprecedented milestone since the creation of Parliament in 1947. The result significantly strengthens the prime minister’s position, who will now have broad autonomy to implement her conservative agenda without depending on parliamentary negotiations, even in the face of possible resistance in the Upper Chamber.
Expanded coalition and reconfigured political landscape
Adding the 36 seats won by the ally Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), the government coalition reaches a total of 352 seats, consolidating a robust parliamentary base for the Takaichi government. The prime minister had brought forward the elections precisely to expand the narrow majority with which she took power in October, after succeeding Shigeru Ishiba as leader of the PLD.
On the other side, the opposition was weakened. The Centrist Reformist Alliance, formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Buddhist Komeito (former ally of the PLD), elected only 49 parliamentarians, a significant drop in relation to the 172 seats it previously held.
Advance of the ultra-right
The populist and anti-immigration party Sanseito also expanded its bench, going from 2 to 15 seats. Its leader, Sohei Kamiya, admitted to NHK that the party “received a big boost”, but highlighted that the performance could have been greater if it were not for the overwhelming strength of the PLD.
The election was marked by heavy snowfall in several regions, which delayed or interrupted voting in some places, even though early voting participation surpassed that of previous elections.
The prime minister, who has maintained high popularity ratings since taking office in October, presented the elections as a referendum on her mandate. She even declared that she would resign if her coalition did not reach an absolute majority of 233 seats — a target that was largely exceeded.
With information from DW on 02/09/2026
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2026/02/09/premie-sanae-takaichi-obtem-ampla-vitoria-no-japao/
