WASHINGTON (February 17, 2026) – On February 8th, conservative leader Sanae Takaichi won Japan’s strongest government majority in more than 70 years in a historic landslide. Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party secured a two-thirds supermajority in the lower house of parliament. This is the first time a single party has achieved this since World War II. In four months as leader, her popularity drastically increased. Takaichi is expected to advance her conservative policies on the economy, national security, and Japan’s role in the region. She also won the support of U.S. President Donald Trump, who endorsed her and invited her to the White House before the results were announced.
For analysis on these developments, please consider GW Professor Kuniko Ashizawa, who has a doctorate in international relations, has more than 15 years of teaching and research experience on Japan’s foreign policy, international relations of East Asia, and global governance, for which she has published a number of academic journal articles and book chapters, including in International Studies Review, Pacific Affairs, the Pacific Review, Journal of Peacebuilding and Development. She was a visiting fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the East-West Center in Washington, and the Reischauer Center for East Asian Studies, SAIS. Dr. Ashizawa previously taught at Oxford Brookes University in the UK.
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