Overview
- Parliament reinstalled Sanae Takaichi as prime minister and she formed a second Cabinet without changes, consolidating control after the LDP’s Feb. 8 supermajority win.
- Takaichi said she will seek a two-year suspension of the consumption tax on food, with timing to be determined through cross-party talks expected to run into the summer.
- A 150-day special Diet session through July 17 prioritizes passage of the delayed fiscal 2026 budget, with policy speeches slated Friday and budget committee deliberations to start as early as Feb. 27.
- Her program advances security and intelligence legislation, including lifting limits on lethal arms exports, building a national intelligence body and debating an anti-espionage law, alongside consideration of nuclear-powered submarines.
- Beijing protested her earlier Taiwan remarks as she prepares a March Washington visit to deepen U.S. economic-security ties, following a $550 billion Japan investment pledge in U.S. projects.