February 9, 2026 | 12:36 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, achieved a historic landslide victory in the Lower House election on Sunday, February 8, 2026. The LDP secured two-thirds of the 465 seats in the Lower House.
As reported by the Japan Times, the vote count on Monday morning showed that the LDP, which had 198 seats before the election, had won 316 seats. This was the most seats won by any party in Japan since the war. The bloc won 352 seats, up from the previous 233, together with its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP).
During a television program, Takaichi expressed her intention to strengthen her party's relationship with the JIP further. "We drafted a joint policy agreement line by line with the JIP, with whom we shared a similar view of the nation, when we were cornered after Komeito left the coalition," said Takaichi, the president of the LDP.
She also invited other parties to form a coalition with the LDP. "If other parties want to work with us, I’d like to welcome them with open arms," she said.
The coalition's landslide victory far exceeded the supermajority threshold of 261 seats, which would give the LDP and JIP an advantage in passing crucial legislation. With this minimum number of seats, the coalition will be able to lead all 17 standing committees in the Lower House.
According to CNA, the opposition alliance Central Reform Alliance (CRA), formed by the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and Komeito just before the election, experienced a drastic decrease in the number of pre-election seats, obtaining only 49 seats. This defeat may lead to the resignation of one of the party leaders, Yoshihiko Noda, who had staked his political career on the new party.
These results are reminiscent of the general election in 2012, when the LDP regained control of the Lower House by winning 294 seats. The victory laid the foundation for the nearly eight-year rule of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Japan.
Yu Uchiyama, a political science professor at the University of Tokyo, stated that Takaichi's high popularity was largely a factor behind the LDP's significant victory. "Takaichi becoming Japan’s first female prime minister gave her a very fresh, new image," he said. "Meanwhile, the CRA — even down to its party name — came across as somewhat old-fashioned, or dated, and that likely made it harder for the party to appeal to voters."
With a two-thirds majority, the government now has the option of pursuing aggressive parliamentary tactics by overriding the Upper House's decisions through a second vote in the Lower House.
Read: Japan Election: Sanae Takaichi Set for Big Win as Polls Open
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