Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (front row, center) and cabinet ministers pose for a photo after the appointment and certification ceremonies, February 18, at the Imperial Palace. (©Sankei by Kazuya Kamogawa)
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) scored a sweeping victory in Japan's Lower House election, with ballots counted on February 8. It secured 316 seats, more than two-thirds of the chamber's 465 seats on its own. And the ruling camp, together with Nippon Ishin no Kai, chalked up a historic win.
In the morning edition editorials published on February 9, Japan's major newspapers offered sharply different readings of the result.
Mandate or Warning?
The Sankei Shimbun voiced hope that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the governing parties would "work with all their might to tackle the challenges facing the country." In contrast, the Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, and the Tokyo Shimbun argued the victory shouldn't be treated as a "a mandate" for the administration "to do anything it wants." They called for careful consensus-building with opposition parties.
Takaichi had signaled during the campaign that she intended to use the election to test public support for policies that have divided national opinion.
Sankei framed the outcome as a vote of confidence in Takaichi as the helmsman steering Japan through what it described as an era of crisis, including a severe international environment. It said a top priority for the Takaichi administration should be the pursuit of national security, "the foundation of Japan's independence and prosperity."
In addition, it argued that the Takaichi administration should seek a major shift in postwar politics, advancing what it called realistic policies to safeguard Japan and the Japanese people.
Sankei went further, arguing that "the basic principle is that Japan must defend its own country." It pointed to steps such as enacting an anti-espionage law to strengthen Japan's intelligence functions. Separately, it called for drafting specific amendment clauses as part of the push for constitutional revision.
Political Capital and Policy Choices
The Yomiuri Shimbun said the Prime Minister must make use of the stable governing majority she has newly secured to steadily carry out policy priorities. At the same time, it said it was hard to argue she had laid out the substance of those policies in concrete terms. It added that the government would need to present details and seek public understanding going forward.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei Shimbun) said the key question is how the Prime Minister will use the political capital she gained from the Lower House landslide. Unresolved issues, it said, are piling up. These include social security reform, energy policy, how to respond to a United States that is unsettling the international order, and Japan-China relations.
Nikkei argued that the government needs to set priorities and lay out the country's direction from a medium-to long-term perspective.
Caution Flags on a Sweeping Win
Meanwhile, the Asahi Shimbun said it expects the Takaichi administration to press ahead, using the Lower House's overwhelming majority backed by what it called the "most recent expression of public will." It also said the government is likely to seek cooperation from parts of the opposition as it moves to implement its agenda.
Even so, the paper argued that a national leader has a duty to pursue careful consensus-building so the country's opinions don't divide the country. Asahi warned that pushing measures through on the "strength of numbers" would only deepen social divisions.
The Mainichi Shimbun also acknowledged that the Prime Minister's political footing would be dramatically strengthened. At the same time, it cautioned that if she slips into unilateral decision-making, public expectations, swelled by image as much as substance, could quickly turn into disappointment.
Opposition Faces a Reckoning
Several papers also noted the heavy defeat suffered by the Centrist Reform Alliance formed by the Lower House caucuses of the Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito.
The Sankei Shimbun said the party lacked credibility on basic policy, citing the example of its inability to settle on a stance on relocating the US Marine Corps' Air Station Futenma to Henoko. Voters, it claimed, saw through the bloc as little more than an "election mutual-aid society."
Pointing to seat losses by the Japanese Communist Party and Reiwa Shinsengumi as well, Sankei concluded that the era in which left-leaning and liberal forces led the opposition should be considered over.
The Asahi Shimbun said that if the ruling camp's power grows, the opposition's role in holding it to account becomes all the more important. It said the key question is whether the parties can rebuild their organizations and maintain unity, and that the true value of rallying under a centrist banner will be tested from here.
The Tokyo Shimbun made a similar appeal, suggesting that forces opposing the LDP must not splinter again and should recognize the weight of that responsibility.
How to Use a Super Majority
A special Diet session called after the Lower House election was convened on February 18. Even in what is often described as an era of one dominant force and a weak opposition, the ruling parties will need to manage the Diet through careful consensus building.
Still, by securing more than two-thirds of the seats, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is in a position to push ahead on contested priorities. That margin is large enough to pass legislation again, even if it is rejected by the Upper House. The Prime Minister should not lose sight of her responsibility to follow through on the agenda she pledged during the campaign.
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(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: Shunichi Takahashi, The Sankei Shimbun
