Sanae Takaichi was formally reappointed by Japan’s parliament on Wednesday, clearing the way for her to assemble a second Cabinet after securing a sweeping election victory last week.
The outcome has strengthened her hand as she seeks to steer the country in a more conservative direction, with all members of her previous Cabinet expected to remain in post.
Although the parliamentary vote was widely regarded as procedural, it carried considerable political weight. Backed by a commanding two-thirds majority in the 465-seat lower house, the more powerful chamber of the legislature, Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party now enjoys the authority to dominate committee leaderships and override upper house resistance.
The ruling coalition does not control the upper chamber, but its supermajority in the lower house enables it to pass legislation even if it is rejected above.
Takaichi has set out an agenda that combines expanded defence capabilities, increased public spending and a reinforcement of conservative social policies. She has pledged to strengthen Japan’s armed forces and promote defence exports, to pursue stricter immigration rules and to uphold male-only succession within the imperial household.
She also intends to preserve the long-standing practice under which married couples share a single surname, a custom critics argue places pressure on women to give up their own names.
Her longer-term ambition to amend Japan’s post-war pacifist constitution, originally drafted under American oversight, may face delay. For the moment, she is under pressure to confront immediate domestic challenges, including rising living costs, weak wage growth, demographic decline and concerns about regional security.
Economic strains and foreign policy balancing
Addressing inflation and stagnant incomes is likely to dominate the early phase of her renewed term. A budget bill designed to finance relief measures was postponed during the election campaign and now requires swift passage.
Takaichi has proposed a temporary two-year reduction in sales tax on food in an effort to ease the burden on households. Economists have warned, however, that looser fiscal policy risks fuelling further price increases and slowing efforts to reduce Japan’s substantial public debt.
On the international stage, Takaichi is preparing for a high-stakes meeting next month with US President Donald Trump, who is scheduled to visit Beijing in April. Trump publicly endorsed her candidacy before the election.
Just hours before her formal reappointment, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced that Japan would inject capital into three projects forming part of a broader $550 billion investment package pledged in October. Tokyo has committed to an initial $36 billion tranche, including a natural gas facility in Ohio, a crude oil export terminal on the US Gulf Coast and a synthetic diamond manufacturing plant.
Takaichi has already signalled a firmer stance towards Beijing. In November she indicated that Japan might respond if China were to take military action against Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by Beijing, prompting diplomatic and economic countermeasures from China.
Her security platform includes plans to revise defence and security policy by the end of the year, lifting restrictions on lethal weapons exports and moving further from the country’s pacifist traditions. Consideration is being given to developing a nuclear-powered submarine capability to enhance offensive reach.
Takaichi has also called for improvements to intelligence-gathering structures and for the creation of a national agency to deepen coordination with allies such as the United States and defence partners including Australia and Britain. Among the measures she supports is a contentious anti-espionage law primarily aimed at countering Chinese intelligence activity.
Domestically, the prime minister has advocated tighter immigration controls, reflecting growing public concern over foreign residents. In January, her administration approved stricter rules governing permanent residency and naturalisation, alongside measures targeting unpaid taxes and social insurance contributions.
On social policy, Takaichi backs maintaining male-only imperial succession and opposes the legalisation of same-sex marriage. She has resisted calls to amend the civil code to allow married couples to retain separate surnames, instead proposing legislation that would permit wider use of maiden names as aliases, a move that rights groups contend is intended to head off broader reform.
