On the 8th of February, Japan held its 29th general election since the restoration of democracy after the Second World War. It was a landslide victory for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which won more than 310 out of 465 seats, and its leader, Sanae Takaichi, who will continue her term as the country’s first female Prime Minister. The Liberal Democratic Party is no stranger to power in Japan, having been in power being in office for most of the period since its creation in 1955, making it one of the most successful political parties in any democratic country.
Part of the reason that the LDP is so successful is that it encompasses a wide range of political beliefs from moderate liberals to extreme nationalists. Its current leader, Sanae Takaichi, is considered to be on the right of the party. She is associated with many controversies, such as downplaying the massacre by Japanese forces in the city of Nanjing in China in 1937, as well as promoting a book that praised Adolf Hitler as being a great politician. These more conservative and nationalistic viewpoints were reflected in her policy proposals, such as taking a tougher stance towards China, cutting taxes and amending Japan’s constitution to recognise the Japan Self-Defence Forces.
The LDP’s main opposition was the Centrist Reform Alliance, which won only 49 seats, the lowest seat count for any largest opposition party in Japanese history. The party was created relatively recently as a merger of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, which had ended its coalition with the LDP due to Takaichi becoming the leader of the party. Similar to the LDP, the party is a very big tent with its members having a variety of views on issues such as the economy and Japan’s relationship with China.
In fact, other than the LDP, the only party that could be seen as coming out of the election as a winner is the Sanseitō or ‘Do it yourself’ party, which went from having 2 to 15 seats. The party is considered to be even more nationalistic than the LDP, advocating for the creation of an “agency for comprehensive policies on foreigners” which would regulate the total number of foreigners in Japan. Like Takaichi, the party’s leader, Sohei Kamiya also has a slew of controversies in his past, stating that gender equality was a “mistake” and that Japan had been targeted by “Jewish international finance capital”.
In a way, this election could be seen as part of a global trend of the growth of the populist right, which can also be seen in the success of figures such as Donald Trump, Nigel Farage and Giorgia Meloni. Like with successful populist right-wing parties in Europe, the LDP and Sanseitō have focused on animating issues such as immigration and have very clear messaging on them.
However, not increasing migration levels could have some serious downsides for Japan. Japan has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, and in 2024, its population shrank by about 900,000 people. Takaichi recognises that this is a major problem and last November created a new “population strategy headquarters” in Tokyo. Many experts believe that the reason so few Japanese people want to have children is because of issues like high costs of living and long work hours, and that unless the government addresses these issues, the trend of population decline will continue.
Overall, whilst this recent election did not change the party in power in Japan, the LDP’s landslide victory may have a major impact on the country’s trajectory. It is likely that under the new government, Japan will become a more assertive force on the world stage. However, it is less clear whether the existential issues that the country faces will be resolved.
