Japan’s February 8th snap election delivered a historic result: Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) secured a rare two‑thirds supermajority in the powerful lower house, giving her the strongest mandate any postwar leader has enjoyed to date. That will sharply increase what she can do on economic policy, defense readiness, and how Japan responds to pressures from both the US and China.

​Jake Schlesinger - President and CEO of the US‑Japan Foundation and a longtime Japan-watcher - joins the show to explain why this election was a potential turning point in a political system often seen as stable to the point of stagnation. He argues that while Japan’s politics have frequently been defined by weak and short-lived prime ministers and cautious consensus, this vote creates the conditions for unusually decisive le ...