They were given a simple question: whether or not to endorse Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi with a mandate to rule. “As a country with a parliamentary system, there is no means by which the citizens can choose their prime minister directly,” she said last month. Even Shinzo Abe, her late mentor who became Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, did not realize that level of success. A two-thirds majority in the lower house makes her minority position in the upper house largely an irrelevance, as bills rejected by the upper house can be forced through. The reality is that as a whole, the country saves far more than it should and spends less than it needs.

Source: Taipei Times February 09, 2026 17:27 UTC