Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s prime minister and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), puts pins marking the names of candidates who won lower house elections at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 8, 2026. Keisuke Hosojima/Kyodo News via AP
Japan’s decisive election result empowers the government to adopt a tougher stance against Beijing’s assertiveness while pursuing an anti-espionage law to combat its infiltration, experts say.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, the nation’s first female leader, led her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to a landslide victory on Feb. 8, securing 316 of the 465 seats in the lower house.
