Smashing victory - Japan's ruling LDP wins over two-thirds lower house majority under its first female PM Takaichi

Sanae Takaichi, Japan's prime minister and president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), during a news conference at the party's headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Feb 9, 2026. Takaichi’s ruling coalition secured an overwhelming majority in Sunday’s lower-house vote, giving her a clear mandate to pursue fiscal expansionary policies that have already driven Japanese stocks to all-time highs. -- Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

TOKYO  (Bernama-Kyodo): Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won more than a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives in Sunday's election, scoring a historic landslide victory that will give Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a major boost in pushing ahead with her conservative policy agenda.

According to Kyodo News Agency, the sharp gain in seats, from 198 before the election to 315, was apparently made possible by Takaichi's personal popularity, setting the stage for her to remain in office after taking power last October.