Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, will secure a majority in the lower house of parliament. This paves the way for her to retain the position of head of government. This is reported by the Japanese publication KYODO, according to UNN.
According to polls, the LDP, which formed a coalition with the Japan Innovation Party, is poised to win at least 233 seats in the 465-seat lower house, up from 198 it held before the election. The ruling camp is expected to secure 261 seats in the influential chamber, overcoming a key hurdle to implementing its legislative agenda. According to polls, the main opposition party, the Centrist Reform Alliance, formed in January by merging members of the lower house of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party, will lose a significant number of seats.
As of 6:00 PM local time, voter turnout was 26.01%, which is 2.97 percentage points lower than in the previous election. At the same time, early voting increased: 27.02 million voters cast their ballots in advance, which is approximately 6 million more than in 2024.
Sanae Takaichi, who has maintained high popularity since becoming Japan's first female prime minister last October, previously stated that she would "immediately resign" if the coalition failed to secure a majority in the lower house.
Recall
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved the lower house of parliament on January 23, calling early elections for February 8. This step was taken to obtain a mandate for the implementation of economic and defense programs.