Japan's Takaichi-led coalition on track for decisive snap election victory, exit polls show

Tokyo [Japan], February 8 (ANI): The ruling party under Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), is poised for a commanding victory in the country's snap election in the lower house, the House of Representatives, held on Sunday, according to exit polls, as reported by Kyodo News.
As per Kyodo News, citing its projections, Takaichi's ruling LDP, together with its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), is poised to secure a supermajority of up to two-thirds of the 465 seats in the lower house of the National Diet, significantly surpassing the 233 seats required for a simple majority.
Amid persistent inflation and a challenging international environment, Takaichi has vowed to pursue a "responsible yet aggressive" fiscal policy while strengthening the country's defence capabilities ahead of the general election.
The ruling bloc is projected to secure at least 261 seats in the powerful lower house, surpassing the threshold required to chair all standing committees and outnumbering the opposition in key panels, which would help push through its legislative agenda, as per early projections, Kyodo News reported.
The main opposition, the newly formed Centrist Reform Alliance, which brings together lower house members of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and Komeito, is expected to lose a significant number of seats, polls indicated.
Meanwhile, the populist Sanseito party, known for its "Japanese First" slogan, is expected to make substantial gains, while Team Mirai, advocating the use of digital technologies to boost political participation, is set to secure its first seat in the chamber.
Polling stations nationwide closed at 8 pm (local time), with snowfall in several regions, including Tokyo, reportedly affecting voter turnout.
Early voting surged, with a record 27.02 million people casting ballots in advance, an increase of around six million compared to the 2024 election, Kyodo News reported.
However, voter turnout stood at 26.01 per cent by 6 pm (local time), down nearly three percentage points from the previous election, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications stated, as reported by Kyodo News.
Takaichi, Japan's first woman prime minister since assuming office in October last year, had pledged to resign if her coalition failed to secure a majority in the lower house.
Nearly 1,300 candidates are contesting 465 seats, with 289 elected from single-seat constituencies and 176 through proportional representation across 11 regional blocks.
As households grapple with rising living costs, major political parties have promised measures to reduce tax burdens, including proposals to suspend or abolish the consumption tax on food products.
Under Takaichi's leadership, the ruling parties have also sought public support for boosting the country's defence capabilities in response to an increasingly severe security environment.
Despite high Cabinet approval ratings, the ruling bloc held only a narrow majority in the lower house before its dissolution last month.
Even if it secures a majority in the lower house, the coalition remains in the minority in the upper house, making opposition support crucial for passing legislation, Kyodo News reported.
For the Centrist Reform Alliance, the election represented the first test of public acceptance for the merger of CDPJ and Komeito members, which critics had argued was an opportunistic electoral strategy.
Komeito, traditionally an ally of the LDP for 26 years, had split from the coalition in October.
This election, the first snap general election in 36 years called by Takaichi, has faced criticism for coinciding with heavy snowfall and delaying the parliamentary approval of the fiscal 2026 budget, originally expected by the end of March.
The LDP has long sought to amend the Constitution, which requires holding at least 310 seats--two-thirds of the total--to propose revisions for a national referendum, Kyodo News reported. (ANI)