Japanese PM Takaichi secures supermajority in the Lower House, winning at least 316 seats of 465, well above the 2/3 threshold (310 seats) needed.
A supermajority allows her to overrider rejections of bills in the Upper House, making it possible to push through her program to strengthen the country’s military capabilities and hawkish security stance amid escalating tensions with China.
She recently fast-tracked increases in military spending (accelerated to 2% of GDP ahead of schedule) and there are now further hikes planned.
She will bolster offensive capabilities with new missiles, drones and other extended-range warfare assets.
The supermajority will also make it possible for her to carry out her campaign promises of establishing a National Intelligence Agency and enacting anti-espionage and foreign agents registration laws to enhance intelligence and counter foreign interference.
During the campaign, Takaichi explicitly advocated abolishing or revising Article 9 of the Constitution to recognize the Self-Defense Forces (SDF) more fully, moving away from their strictly defensive character.
If she secures a supermajority in the next Upper House election (2028) as well, Takaichi will be able to hold a referendum on the first-ever revision to the postwar pacifist Constitution.
Additionally, with the supermajority's momentum, Takaichi can now advance relaxation of weapons export restrictions (via guideline revisions and legislation), abolishing remaining limits on defense equipment transfers.
This shift, building on prior policy changes, will expand Japan's defense industry and could also allow exports of lethal weapons to countries at war.
Such a change of course could benefit Ukraine, as it suffers from bottlenecks inWestern production capabilities for advanced weapon systems.
Takaichi’s massive win today puts Japan on a path of transforming its military into a force capable of defending itself from Chinese aggression and threats, while also allowing its defense industry to expand to expand and potentially provide Ukraine with much needed weapons in a scenario where Putin refuses to end the war through a negotiated settlement.
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- Visegrad