If the coalition of Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party with the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, wins 310 seats, it would be able to override the opposition-controlled upper chamber. A man walks past a board displaying posters of candidates for the Lower House election along the street amidst the falling snow in Tokyo, on Feb 8. "It's bad enough here in the towns, but in the mountains there's twice as much snow. Voters will pick lawmakers in 289 single-seat constituencies, with the rest 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.

Source: The Star February 08, 2026 13:45 UTC