Japan election: Japanese stocks surge as PM Sanae Takaichi wins landslide election victory

Koh Ewe
Live page reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Going into the election on Sunday, Takaichi already had the backing of one foreign leader: US President Donald Trump.

He wrote on Truth Social that Takaichi had “already proven to be a strong, powerful, and wise leader”.

While it is rare for US presidents to publicly back candidates in foreign elections, Trump has done so before, endorsing Argentina’s Javier Milei and Hungary’s Viktor Orban most recently.

Takaichi has courted the US president as Tokyo seeks more stability in its relationship with Washington, its closest ally, in the wake of Trump’s tariffs.

Just one week after she took office, Tokyo rolled out the red carpet for Trump when he visited Japan. It was her diplomatic debut, and the optics were striking: Takaichi aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington, fists pumping as the US president praised her in front of thousands of US soldiers, in images broadcast around the world.

In a post on Truth Social hours ago, Trump congratulated Takaichi and her coalition on “a LANDSLIDE Victory in today’s very important Vote”.

“It was my Honor to Endorse you and your Coalition,” he wrote. “The wonderful people of Japan, who voted with such enthusiasm, will always have my strong support.”