Japan elects lower house: clear victory for government expected

Accordingly, the LDP could regain its absolute majority in the powerful chamber of parliament. The LDP, which has ruled almost continuously since 1955, had lost the majority in both the lower and upper houses in the previous elections.

Takaichi, Japan’s first female head of government

Polling stations close at 8:00 p.m. local time (12:00 p.m. CET). The first trend reports from Japanese media based on voter surveys are expected soon afterwards. However, a major uncertainty factor is the winter weather; heavy snowfalls could hinder the voting.

Takaichi, known as “Asia’s Iron Lady”, was only elected as the first woman to head the government at the end of October. It enjoys very high poll ratings and literally took the opposition by surprise with the new election that was called at short notice. The largest opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and the long-time LDP partner Comet hastily banded together to form the Centrist Reform Alliance.

The new party sees itself as a liberal alternative to the hard-right Takaichi. But surveys predict significant losses. On the other hand, according to surveys, the LDP and its new center-right partner Ishin could even achieve a two-thirds majority.