Name: Voters in Japan prepare for snap election: What's at stake | DW News
Uploaded: 2026-02-07T17:07:44.000Z
Duration: 5 min 48 s
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In Japan, voters will head to the polls on Sunday in a snap election called by Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi.

The conservative leader called the vote in the hope of strengthening her party's position in parliament.

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Opinion polls suggest that gamble may pay off, with many voters drawn to her direct style and focus on cost of living pressures.

Just months after taking office, Prime Minister Sanae Takechi has been campaigning in the final days before Japan's general election.

She's hoping to bolster her party's seats in parliament's lower house, strengthening her hand to govern after years of political instability.

I think we keep changing prime ministers way too often.

This time, Japan got its first female prime minister, Ms. Taka Ichi.

But you know, her term so far has been quite short.

It feels like politicians only just started campaigning and I haven't really listen to what they're saying yet at home, Japan's first female prime minister's short time in office has been marked by a promise to combat rising prices with tax cuts and heavy government spending.

Abroad, she's been making waves, deepening cooperation with the United States and South Korea, while taking a firm hand on neighboring China.

The international situation is increasingly difficult.

The Chinese military has conducted military exercises around Taiwan.

You can also see how China uses economic coercion to force other countries to submit to its demands by controlling raw materials in supply chains, materials that the world relies on and are widely used for civilian purposes.

That tougher, more nationalist tone is resonating with some voters, and Takechi is doing well in the polls.

And after years of political churn, many value Takechi's direct style and emphasis on national security.

But her election bid is facing a significant challenge.

Japan's main opposition party and a former coalition partner are joining forces, aiming to pull Japanese politics back towards the center.

Our two parties have reached an agreement to form a new party so we can fight this election together.

That fight will come to a head when Japan's voters decide all 465 seats in parliament's lower house.

Takechi's short but eventful time in office has been marked by speed and decisiveness, and

she's now betting that this snap election will turn that bold approach into stronger leadership for her and her party.

And joining us now from Japan is Jeffrey Hall.

He's a lecturer in international studies at Kanda University in Tokyo.

What's really at stake in this map election?

Well, it's great to be on the program and Let me just say that what is at stake is Takaichi's career as Prime Minister.

She has pledged that if the LDP and its coalition partner don't reach a stable majority in the election, she will step down, which will mean that Japan's first female Prime Minister will be one of the shortest serving prime ministers in Japanese history.

But as you just said, the polls are looking good for her, so it looks like she's going to reach that goal and it could be a very successful night for the ldp.

Yeah, you just mentioned as the first woman prime Minister of Japan, she made quite a splash on the international stage.

How big a role does foreign policy play in this campaign?

I think that foreign policy is a huge thing in this campaign because she's only been in office for three months and she hasn't really, really done much domestically.

She hasn't gone through the pain of passing a budget and deciding major fiscal policies.

So what she really has to stand on are her international achievements, which are great performances.

Playing the drums with South Korea's president hugging and jumping on stage with Trump smiling.

These kind of things seem unusual to Japanese voters because usually Japanese prime ministers are very dull and boring when they go to international conferences.

So this is helping really improve her approval ratings.

Now, the opposition, of course, has united in an effort to challenge the ruling party.

How much of a threat do you think does that alliance pose as voters get ready to cast their ballots today or tomorrow?

In the first days after the election was called, this centrist alliance seemed like it could be a major electoral threat.

But the polls are indicating that the voters from one of the two parties that merge with the other aren't necessarily going to vote for the new party.

And it might be a party that only lasts for one single election because it's set to possibly lose half of the seats that it already has.

So it's not really turning out to be the huge threat that they had hoped it would be to Prime Minister Takechi.

All right, Jeffrey hall there, an international studies lecturer at Tokyo's Kando University, on that snap election there in Japan.