The Japanese Congress validated Sanae Takaichi as prime minister on Wednesday, February 18, 10 days after sweeping the general elections. With the support of more than two-thirds of the Lower House, the most important in the Legislature, the new government has enough margin to approve its rearmament, immigration restriction and fiscal adjustment projects.

First modification: 02/18/2026 - 19:41 Last modification: 02/18/2026 - 19:42

Sanae Takaichi, already dubbed by the press as the 'Iron Lady' of the 21st century, entered the chamber in Tokyo surrounded and applauded by legislators, almost all of them men, to be officially named prime minister, after having obtained a two-thirds majority in the early elections on February 8.

The prime minister was inaugurated with 354 supports in the Lower House - of 464 legislators -, a comfortable majority thanks to the dominance of the Liberal Democratic Party (PLD) and its allies. In the Upper House, Takaichi obtained 123 votes out of 246.

Hours before the vote, the cabinet led by Takaichi – who came to power in October 2025, after the resignation of Shigeru Ishiba – presented their resignation en bloc, as is customary before the parliamentary investiture.

However, Takaichi announced that he will make few changes with respect to his first cabinet, and that key ministries such as Foreign Affairs, Finance and Defense will retain their current heads.

As part of the institutional distribution, former Justice Minister Eisuke Mori, a veteran PLD deputy, was elected president of the Lower House, while the opposition Keiichi Ishii will assume the vice presidency, in respect of the traditional balance between government and opposition.

At a news conference Wednesday night, Takaichi, 64, said his election victory shows that citizens want "important changes," including "a responsible and proactive fiscal policy, a fundamental strengthening of security policy and the improvement of the government's intelligence capabilities."

The prime minister advocates, among other things, strengthening military capacity, toughening immigration policies, promoting imperial succession rules only for men and maintaining the tradition according to which women adopt their husband's surname after marriage.

Read alsoA woman comes to power for the first time in Japan: the keys to the rise of Sanae Takaichi

With only three months in office, Takaichi invoked Article 7 of the Constitution on January 23 to dissolve the Lower House, with the intention of capitalizing on his approval rating – above 60%, according to recent polls – and recover seats in the Legislature, a prospect that was fulfilled at the polls.

The LDP's majority in the Lower House — the most powerful in Japan — allows it to dominate the most important positions in the chamber's committees and push through bills rejected by the Upper House, where the ruling coalition lacks a majority.

Takaichi inherits citizen discontent due to persistent inflation, higher than 3% in the last year.

Japan, from pacifism to rearmament

The foreign policy of the Takaichi Administration aims to cooperate with Donald Trump, while toughening the discourse against China and North Korea. Rivalry with Beijing drives the new government's desire to accelerate Japan's rearmament. Takaichi has even expressed his willingness to review the postwar pacifist Constitution drafted by the United States.

The prime minister has brought forward to this year the objective of raising the defense budget to 2% of GDP, a goal that the previous government set for 2027.

Read alsoAnalysis: Sanae Takaichi sweeps Japan, what's next?

In addition, it is in favor of lifting the ban on exporting lethal weapons and is even considering the development of a nuclear-powered submarine to increase its offensive capacity.

This Wednesday, he pressed the idea of ​​improving intelligence gathering and establishing a national agency to work more closely with his ally Washington and defense partners such as Australia and Britain.

Shortly after the election victory, Takaichi declared that he is gathering support for a visit to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni Shrine, a gesture that often draws criticism in China and South Korea, where it is interpreted as a sign of historical revisionism.

The main Chinese diplomat, Wang Yi, accused the Japanese Executive of wanting to "revive militarism" on February 14 during the Munich Security Conference.

Ties with Washington

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed this Wednesday her willingness to "cooperate closely" with her American counterpart, Donald Trump. To do this, he added, he will seek to improve economic alliances between both countries, including in the exploration of rare earths.

Takaichi was excited to discuss bilateral cooperation during her visit to the White House on March 19.

Trump endorsed Takaichi before the Japanese election. Hours before her re-election as prime minister, Washington announced that the Asian country will finance three projects in the United States, within the framework of a $550 billion investment package that Japan promised in October.

The first phase of execution of the plan, for $36 billion, includes the construction of a natural gas plant in Ohio, a facility to export crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico and a synthetic diamond factory.

Certain policies of Takaichi, an avowed supporter of Margaret Thatcher, align with White House guidelines, specifically those advocating increased military spending, immigration restrictions and ultra-conservative social policies.

With information from Reuters, AP and EFE

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