While Takaichi is popular, her conservative Liberal Democratic Party is not. The prime minister hopes the snap election will boost the ruling LDP and provide her with a strong mandate for her conservative agenda.
Polls were open on Sunday morning in Japan for parliamentary elections.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi dissolved parliament in January ahead of the snap elections, a gamble she hopes will provide her and her struggling party with a stronger mandate.
While Takaichi is hugely popular, particularly with younger voters, her conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled the country for most of the past seven decades, has been hit by scandals and is facing a new opposition alliance that has emerged as a potential challenger.
What do the polls say?
Opinion polls ahead of Sunday’s national elections suggest that the LDP will comfortably win the 233 seats required for a majority in the 465-member lower house of parliament.
The latest polls suggest the LDP is set for a landslide win in the lower house, with a newly formed Centrist Reform Alliance and the far-right Sanseito party unlikely to pose a serious threat.
Some surveys say the LDP and its coalition partner, the populist Japanese Innovation Party, could win 310 seats needed for a two-thirds majority.
A 310-seat majority for the LDP-led coalition would mean it could override the upper chamber, which is controlled by the opposition.
That would be the strongest result for the LDP since Takaichi’s mentor Shinzo Abe’s victory in 2017. Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, was assassinated in 2022.
Such a victory would mean a significant shift to the right in Japanese politics. The LDP, which has held a narrow majority since a poor showing in elections in 2024, has struggled to push through legislation.
Takaichi has said she will step down if the LDP fails to secure a majority.
Who is Sanae Takaichi?
Takaichi became Japan’s first woman prime minister in October.
She has touted UK former-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher — dubbed the “Iron Lady” — as an inspiration, and her pledge to “work, work, work, work and work” has resonated with voters.
An ultraconservative and China hawk, she wants to boost Japan’s defense spending and capabilities amid growing tensions with Beijing and pressure from US President Donald Trump, with whom she enjoys good ties.
She has also been pressing for tougher immigration policies and to revitalize Japan’s economy.