Public-Policy Lab

Japan’s general election was held on Februa ry 8, 2026. It was a gamble for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to call a snap election. Under Japan’s constitutional practice, the prime minister may dissolve the House of Representatives (the lower house) and call a general election. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was elected prime minister by the Diet last October, succeeding former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. However, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to which she belongs, did not hold a majority in the lower house. Her personal popularity remained high after she took office. Against this backdrop, she suddenly announced the dissolution of the House of Representatives earlier this year. The LDP then won a historic landslide in this election. Its total seats increased from 198 to 316, meaning the party now controls more than two-thirds of the seats in the lower house. With a two-thirds majority, the LDP can override legislation rejected by the upper house and enact it under the overri...

  Today (October 21, 2025) marks a historic day in Japanese politics. Sanae Takaichi, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), has been elected as the first female prime minister by the National Diet. When we consider the history, women didn’t have the right to vote for election and could not be candidates for politician including local assembly or mayor.  Before World War 2, there was a movement by Fusae Ichikawa to require the political participation rights for women. But Japan has to wait for it until 1945 by the new legislation which is strongly guided by the occupied armed force (general head quoters; GHQ).  It took 80 years after that.  If we observe the case of Britain, the first woman prime minister was Margaret Thacher seated in 1979. At that time, she was regarded as a lucky lady and had little power as a leader, especially with senior Members of Parliament.  But she had a strong will to win the Falkland dispute at Alzentine and could achieve vict...

 SNS, which contains Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube, etc, affected the result of this year's upper house general election in Japan. The main reason is that the younger generation uses SNS more than the elderly generation.  source) https://news.ntv.co.jp/category/politics/9ed3fc8bd0124a25a89b308a72553cdd What are the pros and cons of SNS? Pros of SNS Information spreads instantly compared with mass media. Anyone can post or access content without expensive infrastructure. As everyone posts their opinion, a variety of voices can be delivered.  Minor opinions that are not adopted by the mass media prevail in society. SNS can react to opinions, such as comments, shares, and discussions. SNS is a tool that is more difficult for the government to control the opinion. This is especially important for democracy. Algorithms can deliver content based on user interest. Cons of  SNS Lack of fact-checking by professionals allows misinformation and rumors.  As anyone can...