April 15, 2026
TOKYO – Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made clear at the Liberal Democratic Party convention on Sunday her stance of aggressively advancing policies bearing her own color, such as amending the Constitution, ensuring stable Imperial succession and building a strong economy.
Against the backdrop of the move is the enthusiastic response from the public over the party’s overwhelming victory in the House of Representatives election in February.
However, as the LDP still remains a minority party in the House of Councillors, some party members are calling for expanding the framework of the ruling coalition.
“In the lower house election, we campaigned on policies on which public opinion is split and secured the largest number of seats in history,” Takaichi said at the convention. “The public has given us a strong push forward, urging us to see the major policy shift through at all costs,” she added, expressing her determination to realize conservative policies to which she attaches importance and to promote aggressive fiscal policy.
Takaichi, who also serves as the president of the LDP, spoke for about 20 minutes at the convention. Regarding constitutional amendment, she spoke of her intention to advance Diet discussions. “What politicians must do to fulfill the trust placed in them by the public is to engage in discussions to make a decision.”
She also addressed the issue of stable Imperial succession, calling for a revision of the Imperial House Law to grant the Imperial family status through adoption to male members in the paternal line of former Imperial family branches. “The historical fact of Imperial succession through the male line is the source of an emperor’s authority and legitimacy.”
As for building a “strong economy” through economic growth, the prime minister said: “What is overwhelmingly lacking is domestic investment. We will take decisive action to promote the building of an economic structure that is resilient to exchange rate fluctuations.”
She also vowed to win the unified local elections next year and the upper house election in 2028 by realizing the pledges the party made for the recent lower house election.
About 2,100 lawmakers, rank-and-file party members and others attended the convention, and a sense of exaltation was still palpable from the party’s overwhelming victory in the lower house election.
“We were able to share a positive stance in an upbeat atmosphere,” said party Policy Research Council Chairperson Takayuki Kobayashi.
Hirofumi Yoshimura, who is the governor of Osaka and leader of the Japan Innovation Party and attended the meeting as a guest, flattered the prime minister, saying, “Prime Minister Takaichi is the source of the power.”
However, the ruling parties do not have a majority in the upper house, leaving open the possibility that important bills could be voted down in the chamber.
After the party convention, LDP Secretary General Shunichi Suzuki touched on the need to expand the coalition framework. “To stabilize the party’s foundation, we are also considering seeking more cooperation in the form of a [larger] coalition,” he said.
Some party members believe Suzuki made the statement with the Democratic Party For the People in mind. The LDP has been seeking a coalition with the DPFP. “It’s unnecessary to change the goal of forming a coalition with the DPFP,” an LDP executive said.