A conservative landslide in Japan

NBC reports:

Japan’s conservative prime minister Sanae Takaichi has won a landslide victory after she gambled on a high-stakes snap election.

Takaichi, who took office in October after being elected leader of the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), surpassed the 310 seats needed for a supermajority in the 465-seat lower house, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported from the official election count Sunday evening. The supermajority allows her ruling coalition to override the upper house, where it lacks a majority.

I think it can also propose amendments to the Japanese constitution. But they also need to get 2/3 in the upper house and go to referendum.

For many voters, Takaichi — a motorbike enthusiast and heavy metal drummer — is a refreshing change of pace in Japan’s male-dominated politics, despite having traditionalist views that are not always seen as advancing women, and the appointment of just two women in her cabinet.

Much of the craze for Takaichi has been based less on her policies than on her style, with her pledge to “work, work, work, work and work” being named the catchphrase of the year. Items associated with her have gone viral, from the pink ballpoint pen she uses to take notes in parliament to her $900 black leather handbag, now sold out months in advance.

Wow she doesn’t believe in quotas, so she is anti-women. Luckily Japanese voters aren’t woke.

It looks like they have gone from 191 seats to 316 – a huge swing. It is the most seats won by a party in The Diet since 1942, so basically the largest ever post WWII result.

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