Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi places a red paper rose above the names of each elected candidate during the legislative elections at her party's headquarters in Tokyo, on February 8, 2026. KIM KYUNG-HOON/AFP
The "Sanamania" was evident in the polls. It swept through the ballot boxes. The wave of support for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi enabled the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to win the snap elections held in Japan on Sunday, February 8. With 316 seats (out of 465) in the House of Representatives, up from 198, the conservative party gained an overwhelming majority. The opposition, crushed, appears more weakened and fragmented than ever.
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Japan's PM Sanae Takaichi set to win big in snap legislative elections
A proponent of "work, work, work, work," the head of government now has free rein to enact her policies of fiscal stimulus, strengthen Japan's security posture – particularly in response to China and in cooperation with the United States – and tighten immigration controls, giving full expression to her nationalist impulses.
