Tokyo, Jan 30: Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is on course to win a standalone majority in the Feb. 8 lower house election, opinion polls showed, a result that would hand Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a decisive mandate and consolidate her hold on power.
The LDP, which has dominated Japanese politics for most of the post-war period, has governed almost continuously since its founding in 1955, apart from brief spells out of office in 1993–1996 and 2009–2012.
The campaign, which began on Tuesday, has been closely watched amid uncertainty over how the LDP would perform without the backing of long-time coalition partner Komeito, with whom it governed for 26 years, or formal coordination with its current junior partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP).
Takaichi, Japan’s first woman prime minister, previously served in several cabinet posts under former premiers Shinzo Abe and Fumio Kishida.
Analysts say her decision to dissolve the lower house and call an early election, while effectively putting her leadership on the line, underscores growing internal pressures within the ruling party and her desire to strengthen her authority through a fresh popular mandate.