By Focus and AFP | 2026-02-10

TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the public had seen an "urgent need" for major reform after her ruling bloc scored a historic landslide and is pledging to strengthen Japan's defenses.

The February 8 snap election called by Takaichi handed her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) a two-thirds majority in the powerful lower house of parliament for the first time in the LDP's history.

The LDP won 315 seats, official results confirmed February 10. It cleared the 310-seat threshold needed for a two-thirds majority and opens the door to possible constitutional revision.

Takaichi took office in October. Riding a honeymoon boost after becoming Japan's fifth prime minister in as many years, she called the snap election last month. Her gamble that paid off decisively.

Defense push

Japan's first female prime minister now has a mandate to shape policy over the next four years in a nation of 123 million. She has pledged to reinforce national security and tighten immigration controls.

"This is the start of a heavy, heavy responsibility to make Japan stronger, more prosperous," the 64-year-old leader told a news conference on February 9.

"We believe that the public has shown understanding and sympathy regarding our appeals concerning the urgent need for a major policy shift," she said.

An admirer of Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, Takaichi said her administration would move quickly to bolster defense capabilities, including the creation of a new intelligence bureau and revisions to key national security documents.

"No one will come to the aid of a nation that lacks the resolve to defend itself with its own hands," Takaichi said.

"We will steadfastly protect our nation's peace and independence; our territory, territorial waters and airspace; and the lives and safety of our citizens," she added.

Tensions with China

Such rhetoric has heightened tensions with China, which has territorial disputes with Japan and was angered after Takaichi said in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to seize self-ruled Taiwan by force.

China's Foreign Ministry, responding after the LDP landslide victory, again urged Japan to retract those remarks, warning that continued missteps would provoke consequences.

China had enacted a series of retaliatory measures soon after Takaichi spoke out on Taiwan. They include curbs on Japanese seafood imports, warnings against tourism to Japan and restrictions on exports of critical minerals.

Beijing has vowed to "resolutely prevent the resurgence of Japanese militarism" should Tokyo persist on what it called a "wrong path."

"Our nation is open to various dialogues with China. We already have exchanges of views. We will continue the exchanges of views. But we will deal with them in calm and appropriate ways," Takaichi said.

Aligning with US

US President Donald Trump congratulated Takaichi following his earlier endorsement.

Seeking to solidify the US-Japan alliance, Takaichi will meet Trump in Washington on March 19 to "reaffirm the unshakeable unity between Japan and the United States."

Takaichi emerged from the ultraconservative fringe of the LDP and has injected new energy into a party that has ruled Japan almost continuously for decades.

Her sweeping mandate strengthens her hand on defense policy and dealings with Beijing, say analysts. Japan is likely to move "very forward-leaning on defense policy," particularly regarding a Taiwan contingency, Kevin Maher, a former US diplomat now with NMV Consulting in Washington, told the Straits Times.

"One impact could be that [Chinese] President Xi Jinping comes to understand her strong stance," he added.

Takaichi's landslide presents Xi with a dilemma: engage with Japan's most popular postwar leader or continue a prolonged diplomatic freeze with Washington's top ally in Asia, the Financial Times said.

Takaichi is now positioned with her supermajority to push long-sought revisions to Japan's pacifist constitution, imposed after World War II and never amended.

Economic concerns, while still present, have taken a back seat to security, with Takaichi framing stability and defense as prerequisites for long-term growth.

The election marks a shift from "strategic ambiguity" to "strategic clarity," say observers across the region. Japan now is firmly aligning with the United States, taking a tougher stance toward China and expanding cooperation with Taiwan.

Japan has set a clear course of being "pro-US," "countering China" and "working with Taiwan," Tung Li-wen of the Foundation on Asia-Pacific Peace Studies in Taipei said February 9, according to Taiwan-based outlet TaiSounds.