Polls open today for Japan's parliamentary elections, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hoping her struggling party will secure a big enough victory to implement an ambitious policy agenda.
Takaichi is very popular, but the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has governed Japan for most of the last seven decades, is in trouble due to various scandals.
Takaichi called the snap election after just three months in office, hoping to use her popularity before it fades to boost support for the party.
She wants to make progress on a right-wing agenda aimed at strengthening Japan's economy and military capabilities as tensions with China rise. She also wants to develop ties with her key ally, the United States (US), and the sometimes unpredictable President Donald Trump.
The ultra-conservative Takaichi, who took office in October as Japan's first female prime minister, has vowed to "work, work, work," and her style, seen as both playful and tough, has resonated with younger supporters.
The latest polls suggest the LDP will secure a landslide victory in the lower house of parliament. The opposition, despite the formation of a new centrist alliance, and the rising far right are seen as too fragmented to pose a real challenge.
Takaichi is counting on her LDP party, together with its new partner, the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), to win a majority in the lower, more powerful 465-seat house of parliament.
Recent polls by leading Japanese newspapers suggest that Takaichi's party could win a simple majority on its own, while its coalition could win as many as 300 seats, a huge jump from the slim majority the party has held since its election loss in 2024.
She announced that she would resign if the LDP did not win a majority.
A landslide victory for Takai's coalition could mean a significant shift to the right in Japan's security and immigration policies, as well as other policies, and right-wing JIP leader Hirofumi Yoshimura said his party would serve as an "accelerator."
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