Japan election live updates: PM Sanae Takaichi eyes big win; snowstorms threaten voter turnout

Japan Election LIVE: Voting stations across Japan were due to close at 8:00 pm local time (1100 GMT), setting the stage for the first wave of results.

Media organisations are expected to release projections based on partial vote counts shortly after polling ends, offering an early indication of how the lower house election has played out.

Japan Election LIVE: Just two weeks into office, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi – long seen as a China hawk even before becoming premier – raised regional tensions by suggesting Japan could intervene militarily if Beijing attempted to take self-ruled Taiwan by force.

China considers the democratic island part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control, making Takaichi’s comments an early and sharp signal of a tougher stance from Tokyo.

Japan Election LIVE: Despite heavy snowfall in parts of the country, voters turned out on Sunday, with some describing the challenges of reaching polling stations in wintry conditions.

“I think it’s important to come, so that we can properly take part in politics as well,” a 50-year-old woman, who only disclosed her surname as Kondo, told AFP near a voting station in Tokyo.

“Even if it snows more than it does now, I still plan to go,” she added.

In northern Japan, conditions were tougher. “I struggled to find a way to the ballot box as snow was accumulating around it, and it was a pain to arrive here with bad road conditions,” a man in his 70s in Aomori told public broadcaster NHK.

“I wish the election was held in a snowless season,” he said, as Japan holds a general election in snowy February for the first time in decades.

Japan Election LIVE: US President Donald Trump has publicly endorsed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, throwing his support behind her and her ruling coalition as Japan votes in the general election.

In a social media post, Trump said he and his team were impressed with Takaichi when they met in Japan around three months ago.

“Prime Minister Takaichi is someone who deserves powerful recognition for the job she and her Coalition are doing and, therefore, as President of the United States of America, it is my Honor to give a Complete and Total Endorsement of her, and what her highly respected Coalition is representing,” Trump wrote.

The endorsement is likely to resonate with right-leaning voters, though it could also divide opinion among moderates as the campaign enters its final stretch.

Japan Election LIVE: The rising cost of living has emerged as one of the defining issues in the election, with households grappling with the first sustained bout of inflation in a generation.

Both the ruling LDP and the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) have pledged to cut the sales tax on food to zero to ease pressure on families.

The key difference lies in duration — the LDP is proposing a temporary reduction, while the CRA wants the tax cut to be permanent.

Smaller parties are also sharpening their pitch. The Democratic Party for the People, a centre-right group, is campaigning on boosting take-home pay and temporarily lowering the sales tax across the board.

On the far right, Sanseito, which secured the second-highest vote share in last summer’s upper house election, is calling for stricter rules on accepting foreign residents and ultimately wants the sales tax scrapped altogether.

Japan Election LIVE: Strong winter storms swept across wide parts of Japan on Sunday, prompting heavy snow warnings and weather alerts nationwide as voters headed to the polls.

The Japan Meteorological Agency urged caution over high tidal waves, traffic disruptions and blizzard-like conditions in several regions, according to a Bloomberg report.

Central Tokyo recorded 3 centimetres of snowfall in the 24 hours leading up to 5 am local time, the agency said, adding to concerns that the weather could weigh on voter turnout as the day progresses.

Japan Election LIVE: Voter turnout stood at 3.72% as of 10 am local time on Sunday, significantly lower than the 6.33% recorded at the same point in the 2024 election, according to Japan’s internal affairs ministry, cited by Bloomberg.

The early dip comes amid concerns that severe winter weather in parts of the country could weigh on overall participation as the day progresses.

Japan Election LIVE: Voters across Japan headed to polling stations on Sunday as voting began for the Lower House election, widely framed as a referendum on the country’s leadership, reported Japan Times.

The contest is being seen as a direct choice between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and the leader of the opposition, with the outcome expected to determine not just the balance of power in parliament but the future of Takaichi’s leadership.

Japan Election LIVE: Severe winter weather is emerging as a key factor in Japan’s first mid-winter general election since 1990, with concerns it could keep some voters away from polling stations.

Record snowfall has blanketed parts of northern and western Japan and even reached Tokyo on Sunday local time, leading to minor traffic disruptions. Public broadcaster NHK reported that some remote polling stations will shut early to allow ballots to be transported to counting centres on time.

Turnout is already a weak spot in Japanese elections. In recent votes, participation has hovered around 55%, lower than in most advanced democracies.

Japan Election LIVE: A decisive victory in the lower house election could give Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi fresh political clout in her increasingly tense standoff with China, current and former Japanese officials say, even as Beijing shows little sign of softening its stance.

Just weeks after taking office, Takaichi triggered the most serious flare-up with China in more than a decade by publicly laying out how Tokyo might respond to a potential Chinese attack on Taiwan, reported Reuters.

With a strong popular mandate, Takaichi is also expected to push faster on plans to strengthen Japan’s military. Those efforts are likely to further irritate Beijing, which has accused her of trying to revive Japan’s militaristic past.

Japan Election LIVE: Opinion polls suggest Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party (Ishin), could secure around 300 seats in the 465-member lower house, a comfortable jump from the razor-thin majority she currently holds.

The first key benchmark is 261 seats, known as an absolute stable majority. Crossing this line would give the coalition control over parliamentary committees, making it easier to pass legislation and clear crucial budget bills.

A bigger prize lies at 310 seats. Hitting that number would hand Takaichi a super-majority, allowing her coalition to override the upper house, where it does not currently have the numbers.

The stakes are equally clear on the downside. If the coalition fails to retain a simple majority in the lower house, Takaichi has already said she will step down as prime minister.