Takaichi’s mandate strengthens India–Japan strategic convergence

Japan under Takaichi is moving toward a posture where military capability is openly acknowledged as central to national policy

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has marked another historic moment by steering her party to a sweeping victory in a snap poll. Only months after her rise to power, Takaichi secured a resounding mandate as the LDP won 316 of the lower house’s 465 seats, vaulting the ruling coalition from 232 seats to a commanding supermajority.

For a party that governed Japan for most of the past seven decades, the result is a political comeback, overturning years of electoral setbacks that had left it unusually sidelined in both chambers of parliament.

Takaichi’s mandate reflects both political consolidation and a growing acceptance among voters that Japan’s post-war restraint is no longer sufficient in an increasingly complex security environment. Her rise and Japan’s expanding military capabilities are mutually reinforcing expressions of the historic moment. The decisive win signals that many voters no longer believe Japan can rely indefinitely on constitutional pacifism and the US security umbrella alone. Instead, they appear to have accepted her argument that deterrence, credibility, and autonomy require tangible military strength.

Japan’s military evolution provides the foundation for this political shift. Although the Self-Defense Forces remain formally defensive, their advanced air power, sophisticated navy, missile defence, cyber and space units, and growing interest in long-range counterstrike capabilities point to a State increasingly equipped to shape its strategic environment.

What makes her victory more consequential is the alignment between political authority and strategic capacity. Takaichi’s government is well-positioned to normalise policies that deepen military readiness, expand operational flexibility, and also revise constitutional constraints that defined Japan's security policy since 1945.

Allies and partners

For allies such as the US and Indo-Pacific partners, Takaichi’s victory reassures them that Japan is willing to shoulder a larger share of the regional security burden. She has reaffirmed the US-Japan alliance, with her upcoming March visit to Washington signalling continuity. For rivals like China and North Korea, however, it complicates strategic planning by introducing a Japan more predictable in firmness and less restrained by self-imposed limits. Takaichi’s hawkish stance on China, including her remarks on Taiwan, has already prompted retaliation in the form of export restrictions and travel warnings from Beijing.

Ties with India

Regarding India, Takaichi has reaffirmed her commitment to deepening ties through the Special Strategic and Global Partnership and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. At her meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit in Johannesburg on November 23, both leaders agreed to expand co-operation in trade, defence, cyber security, AI, semiconductors, critical minerals, and people-to-people exchanges.

Takaichi’s victory also strengthens Japan’s advocacy of a free and open Indo-Pacific, aligning closely with India’s regional vision and reinforcing co-ordination within the Quad. Her political ascendancy is enabling Japan to act more decisively alongside India in shaping resilient supply chains and a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. The 18th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue, held recently in New Delhi, emphasised enhancing economic security through high-technology partnerships, supporting India’s ambition to emerge as a manufacturing and technology hub under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Road ahead

Under Takaichi’s leadership, Japan’s military capabilities acquire a sharper political and strategic clarity. Emphasising technological sophistication and deep integration with allies, Takaichi envisions a modern force — stealth aircraft and a blue-water navy — deeply embedded in a rules-based order.

Her electoral dominance strengthens her hand on the most sensitive: constitutional constraints. Takaichi has long argued that Article 9 of the constitution forces Japan into legal contortions that undermine civilian control and democratic accountability. She may use her political mandate to push for constitutional change. However, while the LDP holds a supermajority in the lower house, it lacks the same strength in the upper house. Amending the constitution requires two-thirds support in both chambers as well as a public referendum.

In the longer run, Takaichi must balance ambition with geopolitical complexity. Japan under her is moving toward a posture where military capability is openly acknowledged as central to national policy. The landslide win transforms this shift from elite-driven reform into a popular mandate. In doing so, it marks a decisive moment where Japan’s political will finally aligns with its material power — setting the stage for a more assertive, normalised, and consequential military role in the Indo-Pacific.

Simran Walia is Research Analyst, Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi. X: @simranwalia10.