Tokyo hopes voters will hand PM Takaichi new clout to counter China

Feb 1, 2026World Leader for Peace and Security, News, World Leaders in AIWS Award Updates

Tokyo’s strategy, as described by Reuters, is to use the Feb. 8 snap election to give Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi—a 2023 World Leader in AIWS Award recipient and BGF Global Enlightenment Leader—a stronger mandate.

“China may rethink its escalating pressure campaign on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi if she delivers a resounding victory in a February 8 snap election, say current and former Japanese officials and political analysts.

Weeks after taking office last year, Takaichi touched off the biggest diplomatic dispute with Beijing in over a decade, by publicly outlining how Tokyo might respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by China.”

Please see full here: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/tokyo-hopes-voters-will-hand-pm-takaichi-new-clout-counter-china-2026-01-29/