Takaichi Pledges to Implement “Nation-Dividing Policies”

Tokyo, April 11 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged to press ahead with policies that she concedes could split public opinion, at a ruling Liberal Democratic Party meeting in Tokyo on Saturday. “I will fulfill promises at any cost,” Takaichi, who also serves as LDP president, said, referring to what she has described as “nation-dividing policies,” including criminalizing the act of damaging the Japanese flag and expanding the use of maiden names. “I want to build a party with a strong foundation to keep winning elections,” Takaichi also said, seeking victories in unified local elections in spring 2027 and the 2028 election of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan’s parliament. Takaichi admitted that some campaign pledges the LDP put forward for the Feb. 8 election of the House of Representatives, the lower Diet chamber, such as pursuing a responsible yet proactive fiscal policy and strengthening intelligence capabilities and national security, were contentious. “But we were encouraged by the public to carry those policies through,” she added. The LDP achieved a landslide win in the Lower House election. Labeling next year as a “decisive year” for the LDP, Takaichi said that victory in the unified local elections hinges on how far the party has delivered its pledges. “We must produce results this year.” She also warned that if the party were to lose the unified local elections, it would not fare well in the 2028 Upper House election. The day’s meeting of secretaries-general of LDP regional chapters, which preceded Sunday’s annual party convention, was also attended by LDP Vice President Taro Aso and Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]