Japan's 'Iron Lady' Takaichi forges stunning election win, country's first female consolidates her top post

Japan's Prime Minister and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Sanae Takaichi (centre), standing next to LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki (left) and LDP Election Strategy Chief Keiji Furuya, places a red paper rose on the name of an elected candidate at the LDP headquarters during the House of Representatives election in Tokyo on Sunday, February 8, 2026. -- Photo by Kim Kyung-Hoon / POOL / AFP

TOKYO  (Reuters): Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's coalition swept to a landslide election win on Sunday, paving the way for her tax cuts that have spooked financial markets and military spending aimed at countering China.

The conservative Takaichi, Japan's first female leader who says she is inspired by Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, was projected to deliver as many as 328 of the 465 seats in parliament's lower house for her Liberal Democratic Party.