There are wins and there are losses. The difference between them can be unexpectedly large, or small yet heavy.

I could more or less predict the outcome of the Feb. 8 Lower House election from various election polls, but never expected this blowout.

The Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory was the most spectacular in its history.

Having captured 316 seats—well over two-thirds of the Lower House—the LDP effectively secured the majority needed for the chamber to initiate constitutional revision.

The sheer scale of the win must have surprised even the LDP itself.

The party ended up with so many winners in the single-seat districts that........

© The Asahi Shimbun