Takaichi reelected as Japan PM after LDP election win

Sanae Takaichi was reelected as Japan’s prime minister on Wednesday as parliament convened a special session following her Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) landslide victory in the February 8 general election.

Ahead of the 150-day session, her Cabinet resigned en masse in line with constitutional requirements. Takaichi was formally chosen prime minister during a session of the House of Representatives and is expected to unveil her new Cabinet later in the day, News.Az reports, citing Kyodo.

All key ministers are set to retain their posts, including Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.

Takaichi is scheduled to hold a press conference Wednesday night to outline her “responsible yet aggressive” fiscal policy, including a plan to suspend the consumption tax on food products for two years — a key campaign pledge.

The powerful lower house elected veteran LDP lawmaker Eisuke Mori as speaker and Keiichi Ishii of the Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) as vice speaker.

In the general election, the conservative LDP secured a record 316 of 465 seats in the lower house, marking the first time in the postwar era that a single party has won a supermajority. The center-right Japan Innovation Party gained 36 seats.

The special Diet session will run through July 17, with initial deliberations expected to focus on the draft budget for fiscal 2026. With a two-thirds majority in the lower house, the ruling bloc can override the upper chamber, where it remains in the minority following setbacks in the 2025 election under former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

Takaichi, known for her conservative stance and hawkish security views, has also reiterated her readiness to pursue constitutional revision — a long-standing LDP goal — though such changes would require two-thirds support in both chambers and approval in a national referendum.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev