China¡¯s bid to pressure Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in order to force her hand following her unprecedented remarks that Japan could intervene militarily in a Taiwan crisis has fallen flat, with the LDP¡¯s stunning election victory Sunday giving her the needed political capital to confront Beijing on her terms.
Voters, undeterred by apparent Chinese economic retaliation for the November comments, endorsed Takaichi¡¯s unyielding stance toward Beijing, delivering her Liberal Democratic Party the most seats of any political party in the Lower House since the end of World War II.
The results sent a strong signal that Takaichi is likely to be around for some time, giving her the bandwidth to adhere to her government¡¯s strategy of putting the onus on China to reengage with Japan ¡ª something the prime minister herself alluded to Monday night.
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