U.S. media on Japan ruling party’s landslide: “China threat helped Takahichi…good news for America”

Major U.S. news outlets said the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s securing more than two-thirds of the seats in Japan’s House of Representatives election held on the 8th turned the “China factor” into a political tailwind for Prime Minister Sanae Takahichi.

In an editorial dated Oct. 8 (local time), The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote of the ruling party’s sweeping victory: “China, which had sought to punish Takahichi with sanctions on exports and tourism for publicly telling the truth that Japan’s security would be threatened if China seized Taiwan, also deserves ‘credit,’” adding that “Chinese bullying has again backfired, as it did in Taiwan and Australia.”

The WSJ noted that Takahichi hails from a conservative, pro-U.S. faction within the LDP and favors higher defense spending, calling it “urgently needed given China’s vast military buildup.”

It continued: “The best news is that the LDP’s solid majority gives Takahichi the discretion to govern with authority,” adding, “The United States and the free world will need a strong, confident Japan as an ally against the Chinese Communist Party’s imperial ambitions.”

The Washington Post (WP) also wrote in an editorial that the election result “reflects Japanese people’s growing awakening to the existential threat posed by China,” assessing that “Japanese rallied around Takahichi after she confronted China’s Xi Jinping head-on by bluntly saying a Chinese attack on Taiwan would be a direct threat to Japan.”

The WP called Takahichi’s success “good news for the United States,” adding that Washington can help her succeed, and introduced her hawkish security agenda—expanding Japan’s defense budget, bolstering offensive military capabilities, and lifting the ban on exporting lethal weapons.

It also said she could be allowed to scrap pacifist provisions that have been in Japan’s Constitution since World War II, arguing that “if her agenda passes the Diet, Japan can take on more of the security burden to counter China.”

However, the WP cautioned that Takahichi’s expansionary fiscal policy could drive Japan’s debt to unsustainable levels, ultimately creating a self-inflicted risk that could hinder increased defense spending.

In the election, the LDP won 316 seats—exceeding 310, the two-thirds threshold of the 465-seat chamber required to initiate a constitutional amendment. It marked a historic landslide that secured the largest number of seats ever.

Yonghyun Shin, Hankyung.com reporter yonghyun@hankyung.com