Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. [Reuters Yonhap News]

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has confirmed an early landslide victory in the House of Representatives election (general election) held on the 8th, securing a majority of seats (233) in the initial vote count.

According to NHK's election vote count broadcast, as of 9:55 PM that night, the LDP had secured 239 seats. The LDP's current number of seats is 198.

Previously, the LDP regained power from the Democratic Party in the December 2012 general election, winning 294 out of 480 seats. Since then, they have maintained a dominant majority in subsequent general elections in 2017, 2021, and 2024.

During Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's tenure, the LDP won 261 out of 465 seats in the 2021 general election. In the 2017 election under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration, they secured 284 out of 465 seats.

In 2017, the LDP, along with the now-separated Komeito party, which was formerly a coalition partner, secured 313 seats, achieving an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives.

However, in the 2024 general election, the party experienced a significant defeat, failing to maintain its majority.

The LDP has now re-established a "single dominant force" system based on this landslide victory in the general election.

Its coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, secured 33 seats.

Consequently, the total number of seats for the ruling LDP and Japan Innovation Party is currently 272, already exceeding the "absolute stable majority" (261 seats).

Securing an absolute stable majority allows the ruling party to monopolize the chairmanships of the 17 standing committees in the House of Representatives and also achieve a majority in each committee.

While the vote count is ongoing, exit polls from major media outlets predicted that the ruling party could potentially exceed two-thirds of the total seats in the House of Representatives (465 seats), reaching over 310 seats.

If the ruling party holds over 310 seats in the House of Representatives, it will be able to pass bills that were previously rejected in the House of Councillors, where the ruling party is currently in the minority, through reconsideration. This would create a structure for them to unilaterally push forward their policies.

Furthermore, 310 seats is the number of seats required to propose constitutional amendments in the House of Representatives.