Article by Viory
Japan’s lower house on Wednesday reappointed Sanae Takaichi as prime minister after her Liberal Democratic Party bagged a landslide victory in the February 8 election.
Footage shows an extraordinary plenary session counting votes during the prime ministerial designation vote.
Takaichi secured 354 votes in the first round at the House of Representatives, defeating rival candidates.
“It has been decided that this House designates Ms. Sanae Takaichi as prime minister,” the speaker of the lower house said.
On Wednesday morning, Takaichi and her cabinet resigned en masse to fulfill the constitutional requirement before announcing her new team.
Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister in October after winning the Liberal Democratic Party leadership contest.
On January 23, she dissolved the House of Representatives and called a snap general election for February 8—an action her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said was much needed to win public backing for its economic policies.
“Some people may think that the LDP’s single-handed victory of more than two-thirds of the seats has given me great power or carte blanche, but that is absolutely not my intention. As always, I would like to ask for the cooperation of opposition parties who are forward-looking regarding policy implementation,” Takaichi outlined during a media briefing at the PM Office.
She thanked the people of Japan for awarding “the largest number of seats in the Liberal Democratic Party’s more than 70-year history.”
“I hope that Japan will be a shining beacon in the Indo-Pacific, a country of freedom and democracy, and one that other countries can rely on,” she added.
Giving policy direction, she said her administration would amend the country’s constitution, revise the Imperial Household Law, and reduce the number of Diet members in the national parliament.
“The LDP will continue to challenge itself on these fronts as well. Never give up—that is my personal creed,” she vowed.
Her administration is immediately tasked with continuing to address the country’s severe fiscal, defense, and foreign policy challenges. Meanwhile, relations with Beijing have also hit a new low, with China piling the pressure on Tokyo on multiple fronts.
Article by Viory
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