Japan - February 2026
Ruling party secures supermajority in general election
On 8 February, Japan held snap elections for all 465 seats in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the National Diet. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Sanae Takaichi, won 316 seats (68.0 per cent), securing a two-thirds supermajority. The Centrist Reform Alliance won 49 seats, followed by the Japan Innovation party with 36 and the Democratic Party for the People with 28. Voter turnout was 56.3 per cent, up from 53.9 per cent in the previous election. Although a record 313 women candidates contested the election, women’s representation decreased slightly, with 68 women elected (14.6 per cent), compared to 72 (15.5 per cent) in the 2024 election. No major legal challenges to the results were reported.
Sources: IPU Parline, CSIS, The Japan Times
