Japan Institute for National Fundamentals
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Speaking out

Takashi Arimoto

【#1347】LDP Must Back Takaichi on Constitutional Amendment

Takashi Arimoto ／ 2026.02.26 (Thu)


February 24, 2026

　
Following the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s landslide victory with 316 seats in the February 8 general election of the 465-seat House of Representatives, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in her policy speech on February 20, “I hope a constitutional amendment will be initiated in the Diet at an early date.” In her previous policy speech last October, when the LDP was a minority ruling party, she said regarding the amendment, “I hope active discussions will deepen.” Her latest statement went a step further than the previous one, demonstrating her strong determination.

Takaichi mentioned the constitution in the closing part of her latest policy speech. Noting that this year marks 100 years since the start of the Showa era, she stated, “The constitution is the embodiment of our vision for the ideal country we seek to create.” She devoted a larger portion of the speech to the necessity of the constitutional amendment than past prime ministers did. “There is no future for a country that does not take on challenges,” she said. “Hope is never born from a politics that is merely defensive.”

LDP has failed to make full efforts

On Takaichi’s policy speech, the Nishinippon Shimbun newspaper reported an LDP heavyweight as admonishingly saying, “Her characteristic words were lined up, but politics cannot be done with words alone.” There are quite a few LDP lawmakers who share such view.

The LDP won the big victory in the latest election solely because voters expected that Takaichi would bring real change to Japan. The heavyweight and other LDP lawmakers already seem to have forgotten that public confidence in the LDP has not been restored.

While the LDP has advocated constitutional amendment as a core party principle, it is questionable how much its heavyweights have actually done to achieve it beyond merely declaring it. Before admonishing people knowingly, they should remember their past.

A big defeat possible after a big victory

After winning 296 seats in the House of Representatives in the so-called “postal privatization election” in 2005, in which then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi asked voters whether or not the postal system should be privatized, the LDP suffered a crushing defeat in the next lower house election in 2009, with the number of its seats plunging to 119, falling into opposition.

At a general meeting of LDP lawmakers before the policy speech, Takaichi called for taking on the challenge of amending the constitution and the Imperial House Law. LDP lawmakers including old heavyweights should keep in mind that the LDP could restore public confidence only by being united to support the prime minister and achieve the amendment. They should do so to avoid repeating the failure of the 2009 election.

Takashi Arimoto is a Planning Committee member at the Japan Institute for National Fundamentals and a columnist at the Sankei Shimbun newspaper.