Japan's 'Iron Lady' Takaichi forges stunning election win

Projections showed Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) winning up to 328 of the 465 seats in the lower house.

The party surpassed the 233-seat threshold for a majority within two hours of polls closing, putting it on course for one of its strongest results.

Together with coalition partner Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, the bloc was set for a two-thirds supermajority.

That would help Takaichi advance legislation, including the ability to override the upper chamber, which the coalition does not control.

“This election involved major policy shifts, particularly a major shift in economic and fiscal policy, as well as strengthening security policy,” Takaichi said in a television interview as results came in.

“These are policies that have drawn a great deal of opposition ... If we have received the public’s support, then we truly must tackle these issues with all our strength.”

Takaichi, 64, called the rare winter snap election to capitalise on strong approval ratings after she took over the long-ruling LDP late last year.

Voters have been drawn to her direct, hardworking image, while her nationalist stance and focus on security have strained ties with China.

Her pledge of tax cuts has also alarmed investors.

Heavy snow accompanied the vote, with record snowfall in some areas disrupting traffic and forcing some polling stations to close early.

It was only the third postwar election held in February, when elections are usually called in milder seasons.

In Uonuma, a town in mountainous Niigata prefecture, teacher Kazushige Cho, 54, made his way through deep snow and sub-zero temperatures to vote for the LDP.

“It feels like she’s creating a sense of direction - like the whole country is pulling together and moving forward,” he said.

Markets have been particularly focused on Takaichi’s pledge to suspend an 8% sales tax on food to ease the impact of rising prices, with investors questioning how Japan, which carries the heaviest debt burden among advanced economies, would finance the plan.

Takaichi said on Sunday she would accelerate consideration of the cut while keeping fiscal sustainability in view.

“Her plans for the cut in the consumption tax leave open big question marks about funding and how she’s going to go about making the arithmetic add up,” said Chris Scicluna, head of research at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe in London.

Keidanren chief Yoshinobu Tsutsui welcomed the result as a return to political stability, saying Japan’s economy was at a critical point for achieving sustainable, strong growth.

The LDP, which has governed for most of Japan’s postwar era, had lost control of both chambers in elections over the past 15 months under Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.

Takaichi has since revived the party’s standing, particularly among younger voters, even prompting a “sanakatsu” craze, loosely translated as “Sanae-mania,” with demand rising for items associated with her, including her handbag and the pink pen she uses to take notes in parliament.

US President Donald Trump last week gave Takaichi his “total endorsement” and said he would host her at the White House next month.

China is also expected to scrutinise the outcome.

Soon after taking office, Takaichi sparked the biggest dispute with Beijing in more than a decade by publicly outlining how Tokyo might respond if China attacked Taiwan, the democratic island claimed by China.

Beijing retaliated with a series of measures, including urging its citizens not to travel to Japan.

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te was among the first to congratulate Takaichi, saying he hoped her win would “bring a more prosperous and secure future for Japan and its partners in the region”.

With a stronger mandate, Takaichi could move faster on plans to bolster Japan’s defences, which Beijing has criticised as an attempt to revive militarism.

Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Sunday night he wanted to press ahead with measures to strengthen Japan’s defence while continuing dialogue with China.

“Beijing will not welcome Takaichi’s victory,” said David Boling, principal at the Asia Group, a firm that advises companies on geopolitical risk.

“China now faces the reality that she is firmly in place, and that its efforts to isolate her completely failed.”

Reuters