Japan PM Takaichi expresses gratitude to PM Modi after decisive lower house victory, reaffirms commitment to free, open Indo-Pacific

Tokyo [Japan], February 9 (ANI): Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday expressed her gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his congratulatory message following her coalition's decisive victory in Sunday's election in Japan's lower house, the House of Representatives, while reaffirming Tokyo's commitment to strengthening ties with India for advancing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).
In a post on X, Prime Minister Takaichi, who led the coalition with her party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which won a two-thirds majority in the house, thanked Prime Minister Modi for his message and underscored her intent to continue close cooperation with India.
"Thank you very much, Prime Minister Narendra Modi for your warm congratulations on the House of Representatives election. I look forward to continuing to work together with you to strengthen the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between Japan and India and to cooperate in realising a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)," she said. She also expressed her gratitude to PM Modi in Hindi in the same post.
According to Kyodo News, the LDP won a mandate, securing 310 seats in the 465-member lower house, which allows the party to pursue constitutional revision and pass legislation even if it is rejected by the upper house, the House of Councillors. The ruling coalition still remains in a minority in the upper house. The LDP has also become the first party in postwar Japan to achieve such a margin.
Following the projection in Sunday's snap elections, which noted that the Takaichi-led coalition is set to have a decisive win, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended warm congratulations to the Japanese Prime Minister, emphasising that India-Japan ties remain vital for advancing global peace, stability, and shared prosperity through their robust Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi congratulated Takaichi on her projected landmark electoral win and reaffirmed the importance of the partnership that established eight all-nation lines of effort for the next decade.
"Congratulations, Sanae Takaichi, on your landmark victory in the elections to the House of Representatives! Our Special Strategic and Global Partnership plays a vital role in enhancing global peace, stability and prosperity. I am confident that under your able leadership, we will continue to take the India-Japan friendship to greater heights," PM Modi stated in his post.
The congratulatory message came as projections indicated that Takaichi's ruling coalition is set to secure a historic win in Japan's lower house elections, with a two-thirds majority.
India and Japan laid out eight directions to steer their Special Strategic and Global Partnership over the next decade on August 29, 2025, during PM Modi's visit to Japan for the India-Japan Annual Summit 2025.
According to the joint vision, the two sides reaffirm their shared commitment to a free, open, peaceful, prosperous, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
The landslide result marks a sharp increase from the party's pre-election strength of 198 seats and was widely attributed to Takaichi's personal popularity.
The LDP and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), will together command a dominant presence in the chamber, reinforcing Takaichi's position after she took office in October, becoming the country's first woman prime minister.
"We bear an extremely heavy responsibility to focus on steadily delivering on the campaign pledges we have made," Takaichi said during a television programme after the victory was reported, as quoted by Kyodo News.
The election delivered a major setback to the newly formed Centrist Reform Alliance, whose seats were halved from 167 before the vote.
Its co-leaders, Yoshihiko Noda and Tetsuo Saito, hinted at possible resignations following the defeat, Kyodo News reported.
Among smaller parties, the populist Sanseito, campaigning on a "Japanese First" platform, won 13 seats, up from two, while Team Mirai, which promotes digital technology to boost political participation, entered the lower house for the first time with nine seats, Kyodo News reported. (ANI)