Sanae Takaichi officially became Japan’s first female prime minister after leading the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to victory in the House of Representatives election, winning 316 of the 465 seats on February 9, 2026.
The victory is seen as a major turning point that will lead the LDP to take over all committee chair positions, control the majority in committees, and be able to lift its opposition to bills in the upper house; after the party lost its majority in the 2024–2025 election and fell into a minority government.