Tue, Feb 10, 2026 page7

• Takaichi needs more than her winning personality

  • By Gearoid Reidy / Bloomberg Opinion
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  The streets of Tokyo on Sunday were dusted with a rare snowfall as election day broke, while other parts of the country were issuing emergency alerts as a blizzard gripped much of Japan.

  It is perhaps for this reason that a country with several of the snowiest regions has not had a winter election for decades. However, bad weather could not deter the electorate, which turned out in greater numbers than in the previous vote in 2024. They were given a simple question: whether or not to endorse Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with a mandate to rule.

  Past prime ministers have typically hung such votes on a policy issue. Takaichi made the election about herself. In a gamble on her popularity, she called on the electorate to endorse her, personally.

  “As a country with a parliamentary system, there is no means by which the citizens can choose their prime minister directly,” she said last month. “I want the Japanese people to make the decision directly on whether to entrust the management of the nation to Sanae Takaichi.”

  Management has been entrusted. Now, she must repay that trust.

  The margin of victory is far more resounding than almost anyone could have expected. Her 316 seats exceeds the achievements of any leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Even Shinzo Abe, her late mentor who became Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, did not realize that level of success. A two-thirds majority in the lower house makes her minority position in the upper house largely an irrelevance, as bills rejected by the upper house can be forced through. It also sets her up to be one of the strongest, most consequential leaders the country has known for years.

  Partly, she has benefited from the quality of her opponents. The Centrist Reform Alliance, hastily formed from the traditional opposition party and the LDP’s former coalition partner, was a disaster, managing to be weaker than the sum of its parts. Perhaps any opponent would have struggled against a politician who is arguably the most naturally gifted of her generation.

  The victory would show the true Takaichi. With its precarious position in both houses of parliament, her government has so far been reactive. Now she has a mandate to enact her vision — but exactly what that is remains a little unclear. In making the election a referendum on herself, policy has fallen a little to the wayside.

  Before asking what Takaichi stands for, let us make clear what she is not. Many reports still brand her as an “ultraconservative” or “ultranationalist,” labels that confuse far more than they inform. She is a conservative, yes, but suggestions that she is a radical are wide of the mark. In most countries, her policies of a strong economy and healthy defensive posture would be firmly centrist.

  There is one major change she might now pursue — the first-ever revision of Japan’s constitution. The win gives her the potential to pursue that policy, a long-standing goal of the LDP that even Abe was never sufficiently emboldened to attempt.

  Takaichi has already shown her appetite for risk, and spoke on the campaign trail of revising the US-imposed pacifist constitution to recognize the nation’s military. With a sufficient majority in the lower house, and enough parties that say they want revision in the upper, it is an idea whose time might soon come.

  That would prove extremely unpopular in Beijing. China was one of the big losers on Sunday, as its campaign to exert economic and political pressure on Takaichi over her comments on Taiwan backfired spectacularly — but ignore those who say she is “provoking” Japan’s neighbor.

  The episode would only push her closer to Washington, where she is to visit next month. US President Donald Trump likes a winner, particularly one he has backed — although Takaichi might not have appreciated his last-minute endorsement of her, the type of interference Tokyo usually deplores. The prime minister can leverage that to get further into Trump’s good books, perhaps securing better terms on tariffs or a more forceful backing of Tokyo’s position with Beijing.

  It is important to note also that Takaichi is not some advocate for irresponsible spending, despite so much market commentary to the contrary. She has not done the greatest job in outlining her economic policy. Rather than spend like crazy, she is seeking a change in the nation’s attitude to break free of austerity. Admittedly, that is not what people immediately associate with Japan because of its historic debt levels. The reality is that as a whole, the country saves far more than it should and spends less than it needs.

  What that means in practical terms is not yet clear. Her proposal to temporarily cut the sales tax on food to zero disappeared during the election campaign, but reappeared immediately in media interviews as the scale of her triumph became clear. She would have been best advised to drop it.

  It is one example of how Takaichi should not let success go to her head. First and foremost, she must be more careful with her remarks: Her comments on Taiwan and the weak yen, misinterpreted though they have been, sparked distractions she could do without.

  Most importantly, a victory based on personal popularity requires her to maintain that appeal and connection with the electorate. That calls for swift action. Until now, she has had the advantage of being seen as an outsider with the ruling party. Now, she owns it — warts and all.

  Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and the Koreas. He previously led the breaking news team in North Asia, and was the Tokyo deputy bureau chief. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.
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