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Takaichi won’t have a free hand even with her huge mandate
Japan’s PM faces external and internal constraints, including high voter expectations.
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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's snap election gamble has paid off as her Liberal Democratic Party won a historic mandate in the Feb 8 polls.
PHOTO : AFP
James D.J. Brown
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s gamble to call a snap election paid off handsomely. The scale of victory for her ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Feb 8 was historic. It won 316 of the 465 seats
The stunning results raise two immediate questions. First, what brought about the remarkable outcome, one that exceeded the LDP’s expectations? Second, what will she do with the resounding mandate, especially given warnings from the likes of China and Russia about her supposedly radical nationalist leanings?
