Seoul Gazette - Japan PM Takaichi basks in historic election triumph

If confirmed by official results, the outcome gives Japan's first female premier a strong mandate to implement her conservative agenda and stamp her mark on the country of 123 million people over the next four years.

The Asia-Pacific region will be watching closely, however, to see if the 64-year-old ups the ante or lowers the temperature with China after enraging Beijing in November with comments about Taiwan.

Financial markets may also be nervous about Japan's public finances and its gargantuan debt pile if Takaichi decides to cut taxes and boost spending in Asia's number-two economy.

"We have consistently stressed the importance of responsible and proactive fiscal policy," Takaichi insisted late Sunday.

"We will prioritise the sustainability of fiscal policy. We will ensure necessary investments. Public and private sectors must invest. We will build a strong and resilient economy," she said.

On Monday, the Nikkei jumped around five percent to hit a new high, with equities "poised to benefit from higher fiscal spending but interest rates that remain accommodative and negative in real terms", according to analyst Kyle Rodda of Capital.com.

With a stronger mandate, Takaichi is also expected to push through her ambitious policy agenda, which includes boosting the defence budget, tougher immigration measures and potentially changing the constitution.

Capitalising on her honeymoon start after becoming Japan's fifth premier in as many years in October, Takaichi called the snap election last month.

The gamble paid off handsomely, with local media reporting that her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) won around 316 of the 465 seats contested, citing partial results.

That takes the party past the 310-seat threshold needed for a two-thirds majority.

Together with its junior coalition partner, they're expected to secure 352 seats.

US President Donald Trump congratulated Takaichi after an earlier endorsement.

"I wish you Great Success in passing your Conservative, Peace Through Strength Agenda," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

- Drummer -

Takaichi has injected new life into the LDP, which has governed Japan almost non-stop for decades but shed support in recent elections because of unhappiness about rising prices and corruption.

A heavy metal drummer in her youth, Takaichi was an admirer of Britain's "Iron Lady" Margaret Thatcher, and on the ultra-conservative fringe of the LDP when she became party chief.

She has been a hit with voters, especially young ones, with fans lapping up everything from her handbag to her jamming to a K-pop song with South Korea's president.

But she will have to deliver on the economy to remain popular.

"With prices rising like this, what matters most to me is what policies they'll adopt to deal with inflation," voter Chika Sakamoto, 50, told AFP at a voting station in snowy Tokyo on Sunday.

- Socially conservative -

Despite being her country's first woman premier, Takaichi has shown little appetite for framing her leadership around gender in male-dominated Japanese politics.

She is socially conservative, opposing any revision to a law requiring married couples to share the same surname, a rule that overwhelmingly results in women taking their husband's name.

Before becoming prime minister, Takaichi was seen as a China hawk.

She was a regular visitor to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours convicted war criminals along with 2.5 million war dead and is seen as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.

Barely two weeks in office, Takaichi suggested that Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing sought to take self-ruled Taiwan by force.

China regards the democratic island as part of its territory and has not ruled out force to annex it.

With Takaichi having days earlier pulled out all the stops to welcome Trump, Beijing was furious with her unscripted remarks.

It summoned Tokyo's ambassador, warned its citizens against visiting Japan and conducted joint air drills with Russia. Japan's last two pandas were even returned to China last month.

Margarita Estevez-Abe, associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, said that Takaichi can afford to dial down tensions now.

"Now she doesn't have to worry about any elections until 2028, when the next upper house elections will take place," Estevez-Abe told AFP before the vote.

"So the best scenario for Japan is that Takaichi kind of takes a deep breath and focuses on amending the relationship with China."

C.Park--SG