Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party scored a landslide in the House of Representatives election held on the 8th, fully reclaiming control of the government. There is speculation that, with this election, the Takaichi Cabinet will be reshaped into a "strong government" on par with the tenure of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.
Public broadcaster NHK said in an 8 p.m. exit poll that the Liberal Democratic Party was projected to win between 274 and 328 of the 465 seats, easily clearing a solo majority of 233. Combined with its coalition partner Japan Innovation Party, observers said the bloc was within reach of the two-thirds threshold of 310 seats needed to revise the Constitution.
Since wresting power back from the Democratic Party in 2012, the Liberal Democratic Party secured a solo majority in three of four general elections and maintained a long-running governing arrangement with Komeito. But in the Oct. 2024 general election, a slush fund scandal and high inflation dealt a direct blow, leaving it with 191 seats and allowing an opposition-controlled majority.
With this election victory, Prime Minister Takaichi laid the groundwork for stable governance over the next three to four years. The next nationwide election is the House of Councilors race in Jul. 2028, but the course of Japanese politics is effectively decided in the House of Representatives.
The opposition failed to gain traction. The centrist Reform Alliance, the main opposition party, was projected to remain at 81 seats from 37. The party is a newly launched group formed last month by the merger of the Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito.
The Asahi Shimbun analyzed that "as policy clashes over high inflation measures, security, and political funds grew blurred, strong support for Prime Minister Takaichi drove the Liberal Democratic Party's victory."