When she announced a snap general election at a press conference on Jan. 19, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi cited proactive fiscal spending, a drastic strengthening of security policy, and the development of intelligence capabilities as among her priorities, issues which have proved divisive among the public.

Constitutional revision, a long-standing goal of her Liberal Democratic Party, was included in its platform for the Feb 8 election, which the party won by a landslide, securing 316 of the 465 seats in the House of Representatives.

In speeches toward the end of campaigning, Takaichi called for support to revise the Constitution to position the Self-Defense Forces "as an organization with real power." Following its sweeping election victory, the LDP, after securing the chairmanship of the lower house's Commission on the Constitution, is expected to push for the revision, a move that could split public opinion.

The LDP's platform........

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