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Takaichi re-elected as Japan’s Prime Minister after snap election landslide

By The South Asia Times

TOKYO - Sanae Takaichi was re-elected as Japan’s prime minister on Wednesday after parliament voted to retain her following her ruling party’s sweeping victory in this month’s snap general election.

Takaichi secured a majority in both chambers of Japan’s bicameral legislature, according to Kyodo News.

In the powerful lower house, she won 354 votes out of 465. In the 248-member upper house, where the ruling bloc does not hold a majority, Takaichi received 125 votes and prevailed in a runoff against opposition rival Junya Ogawa, who garnered 65 votes.

The parliamentary vote followed snap elections held on Feb. 8, in which Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its allies secured 316 of the 465 lower house seats -- a commanding majority that allows the coalition to override the upper chamber if necessary. It marked the first time in the post-World War II era that the ruling party achieved such dominance after a snap poll.

Earlier at morning, Takaichi’s Cabinet resigned en masse, a constitutional requirement before the formation of a new government. She is expected to reappoint most ministers, with the new Cabinet lineup to be announced later in the day.

Takaichi, 64, became Japan’s first female prime minister last October after winning the LDP leadership race. She called the early elections within four months of taking office, seeking a renewed public mandate -- a gamble that has now strengthened her legislative grip.