TOKYO, Feb 8 — Japanese voters trudged through snow today to cast their ballots in an election predicted to hand Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi a resounding win, though record dumps in some parts of the country snarled traffic and could dent turnout.
The conservative coalition of Takaichi, the nation's first female leader, is on track to win around 300 of the 465 seats in the lower house of Parliament, according to multiple opinion polls, a large gain from the 233 it is defending.
Outside a polling station in a small town in the central prefecture of Niigata, where snow piled up more than 2m in places, teacher Kazushige Cho, 54, said he was determined to vote for Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party despite the conditions.
"She has shown strong leadership and pushes various policies forward. I think things could turn out quite well," he said.
Takaichi rides 'Sanakatsu' wave among young voters
Takaichi, 64, who became prime minister in October last year after being selected as the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) leader, called the rare winter election to try to ride a wave of personal popularity.
With a straight-talking style and an image as a hard worker that has won her support, she has accelerated military spending to counter China, angering Beijing, and pushed for a sales-tax cut that has rattled financial markets.
"If Takaichi wins big, she will have more political room to follow through on key commitments, including on consumption-tax cuts. Markets could react in the following days, and the yen could come under renewed pressure," said consultancy FGS Global's managing director Seiji Inada.
Her promise to suspend the eight per cent sales tax on food for two years to help households cope with rising prices has spooked investors, who are concerned about how the nation with the heaviest debt burden among advanced economies will fund the plan.
Niigata resident Mineko Mori, 74, padding through the snow with her dog early today, said she worried that Takaichi's tax cuts could saddle future generations with an even bigger burden.
Mori planned to vote for Sanseito, a small far-right party that broke through in a 2025 upper house ballot with promises to crack down on badly behaved foreigners and control immigration.
But younger voters are among the most supportive of Takaichi, with one recent poll finding more than 90 per cent of those under 30 favoured her.
The Prime Minister has sparked an unlikely youth-led craze called "sanakatsu", roughly translated as "Sanae-mania", with the products she uses, such as her handbag and the pink pen she uses to scribble notes in Parliament, in high demand.
However, that young cohort is less likely to vote than the older generations that have long been the bedrock of LDP support.
On Thursday (February 5), Takaichi received the endorsement of United States President Donald Trump, a signal that may appeal to right-leaning voters.
If the coalition of Takaichi's LDP with the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, wins a supermajority of 310 seats, she could override the upper chamber, where the coalition does not have a majority.
If the polls have it all wrong and Takaichi loses control of the lower house, she has vowed to step down.
Whiteout could boost organised voting blocs
With up to 70 cm (28 inches) of snow forecast in northern regions, some voters will battle blizzard conditions to pass their verdict on her administration. It is only the third postwar election held in February, with elections typically called during milder months.
Even the capital, Tokyo, received a rare covering of snow, causing minor traffic disruptions.
The Transport Ministry stated that nationwide, 37 train lines and 58 ferry routes were halted, and 54 flights were cancelled as of this morning.
Turnout in recent lower house elections has hovered around the mid-50 per cent range. Any slump today could amplify the influence of organised voting blocs.
One of those is Komeito, which last year quit its coalition with the LDP and has merged into a centrist group with the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. Komeito has close ties to the lay-Buddhist Soka Gakkai group, which claims at least eight million members nationwide.
Voters will elect lawmakers in 289 single-seat constituencies, with the remaining seats decided by proportional representation votes for parties. Polls close at 8pm (1100 GMT), when broadcasters are expected to issue projections based on their exit polls.
