Exit polls point to public endorsement of new prime minister Sanae Takaichi
Japan’s conservative governing party is on course to dramatically strengthen its grip on power after exit polls predicted a landslide victory in Sunday’s lower house elections.
The Liberal Democratic party (LDP) was projected to win between 274 and 328 seats out of a total of 465, according to an exit poll by the public broadcaster NHK, well above the 233 it needed to regain the majority it lost in 2024. Combined with seats secured by its junior coalition partner, the Japan Innovation party, the parties could win between 302 and 366 seats, NHK added.
The elections for the lower house of Japan’s parliament, held on a freezing day when many parts of the country were again hit by heavy snow, will be seen as an early public endorsement of the new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.
Takaichi, who called the snap election soon after becoming Japan’s first female prime minister last autumn, had vowed to resign if her coalition failed to secure a simple majority.
