LDP’s Landslide Victory: Takaichi Should Leverage Stable Base to Solve Issues / Aim to Rebuild Peace and Order

Editorial

14:00 JST, February 9, 2026

What exactly was going on with the Liberal Democratic Party for the past year and several months, when it suffered declining strength? The party’s historic landslide victory in the House of Representatives election makes one wonder.

The LDP achieved the overwhelming victory in the 51st general election of the lower house. Far exceeding the goal of securing a combined majority with coalition partner Japan Innovation Party, the LDP alone won two-thirds of the seats.

The ruling parties are still a minority in the House of Councillors, but Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has succeeded in building a stable base in the lower house.

Earning public understanding

After being reduced to a minority ruling party as the result of a crushing defeat in the previous 2024 general election, the LDP had become fixated solely on maintaining power, haphazardly accepting opposition demands, including those involving fiscal stimulus. Unable to present a vision LDP for the future, support for the LDP had steadily dwindled.

Amid this predicament, Takaichi assumed office as Japan’s first female prime minister. Her use of crisp rhetoric, like “Make the Japanese archipelago stronger and more prosperous,” to call for the continuation of her administration likely helped regain support lost from conservative and young voters.

The prime minister must now leverage this newly secured stable base to steadily implement policy initiatives.

However, while Takaichi has championed slogans like “responsible and proactive public finances,” she has not been specific about the details of these crucial policies. Going forward, it is essential to present detailed policy proposals and seek public understanding.

A particularly pressing issue is the handling of the consumption tax.

In the latest lower house election, all parties except Team Mirai pledged to reduce or abolish the consumption tax.

Maintaining consumption tax only natural

The LDP has historically viewed the consumption tax as a core revenue source and emphasized its importance. Yet in this election, the party reversed its stance, proposing a zero tax rate on food items for two years.

However, neither the LDP nor any other party has presented a convincing alternative revenue source. Is it the act of a responsible political party to undermine fiscal sources for social security programs like pensions, healthcare and nursing care as a short-term measure against rising prices?

Many young people are said to have expressed anxiety that cutting the tax while national debt is swelling could make it impossible to sustain the social security system in the future.

Team Mirai’s success this time in securing a certain number of seats without joining the call for consumption tax cuts may well be due to garnering support from such younger voters.

Takaichi must not confuse what should be reformed with what should be preserved. Maintaining the consumption tax as a core source of revenue is only natural.

The Takaichi administration must not become overconfident with this victory. It must bear in mind that it still has a minority in the upper house and strive for careful consensus-building between ruling and opposition parties.

It would be premature to conclude that the LDP has fully regained its strength. A Yomiuri Shimbun opinion survey last month showed that while the approval rating for the Cabinet stood at 69%, the support rate for the LDP remained at just 35%.

The LDP must not underestimate the fact that the political landscape could shift dramatically depending on the tendency of unaffiliated voters.

Opposition realignment possible

Meanwhile, the Centrist Reform Alliance, which was formed between the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito just before official campaigning for the general election started, suffered a crushing defeat.

When forming the new party, the CDPJ acknowledged the security-related legislation as “constitutional,” despite previously insisting on “abolishing unconstitutional parts” of the legislation. It also retracted its platform’s pledge for “zero nuclear energy.”

While these moves appeared to be attempts to attract moderate conservative support through realistic policies, the party’s “centrist” philosophy remained unclear.

Many viewed the merger of the CDPJ and Komeito — parties that had been on opposite sides as opposition and ruling parties just a few months ago — as purely for the sake of the election. The fact that the leaders of the new party remained largely unchanged from their respective former parties also lacked freshness.

Following this crushing defeat for the CRA, it is possible that there will be a realignment of the opposition bloc involving other parties.

Japan faces a mountain of problems. How to respond to the rapidly changing international situation is also crucial.

Since the end of World War II, Japan has benefited from the U.S.-led international order, including the rule of law and free trade.

However, major powers, including the United States, now increasingly disregard the rule of law. Coercion through threat of force persists, as does armed conflict. Japan’s security environment also continues to deteriorate.

It can be said that Japan has entered an era in which it should lead the reconstruction of peace and the international order, leveraging its longstanding commitment to peaceful diplomacy and track record of supporting developing countries.

The fact that the prime minister has secured a stable base as the result of the general election will likely serve as a crucial political resource for advancing such foreign policy measures.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 9, 2026)