Politics Ledger · Asia-Pacific
Japan
Liberal democracyConstitutional monarchyUnitary
LightDark
In charge
Sanae Takaichi
Prime Minister
Time in power
1.0 yrs
since 2025
Government seats
76%
majority
Next national vote
2028-07
House of Councillors
Governance score
78/100
composite of five indices
Japan transformed from a feudal shogunate into a modern imperial power in a generation, fell into militarism and defeat, and rebuilt itself as a pacifist democracy dominated almost continuously by the LDP since 1955.
Leadership
Who Governs Japan
Head of state
Naruhito
Emperor
Since 1 May 2019 · 7.5 years
Age 66 (born 1960)ManRoute to power: hereditary
Head of government
Holds executive powerSanae Takaichi
Prime Minister · Liberal Democratic Party
Since 21 October 2025 · 1.0 years
Age 65 (born 1961)WomanRoute to power: chosen by party
Ruling coalition
LDP and Japan Innovation Party (Ishin): 352 of 465 lower-house seats
Main opposition
Centrist Reform Alliance (CDP-Komeito merger)
Last national election
8 February 2026
Snap general
LDP won 316 seats, its biggest result in decades, giving Japan's first woman PM a commanding mandate.
Next national election
By July 2028
House of Councillors
The coalition still lacks a majority in the upper house.
Recent changes (last 12 months)
Parliament
House of Representatives
Seat distribution (Elected 8 February 2026), ordered from economic left to right.
| Party | Ideology | Seats | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) | Conservatism, Nationalism | 316 | governing |
| Centrist Reform Alliance (CRA) | Centrism, Liberalism | 49 | opposition |
| Japan Innovation Party (Ishin) | Reformist conservatism | 36 | coalition |
| Democratic Party for the People (DPFP) | Centrism | 28 | opposition |
| Sanseitō (SAN) | Right-wing populism | 15 | opposition |
| Team Mirai (TM) | Techno-progressivism | 11 | opposition |
| Others and independents (OTH) | Various | 6 | opposition |
| Japanese Communist Party (JCP) | Communism | 4 | opposition |
Ideology
Party Landscape
Each party placed on economic and social axes, sized by seats.
Institutions
The System
- Official name
- Japan
- Capital
- Tokyo
- Population
- 124 million
- Statehood
- Imperial state since antiquity; Meiji Constitution 1889; postwar Constitution 1947
- System
- Constitutional monarchy
- Structure
- Unitary
- Current constitution
- 1947
- Legislature
- National Diet
- Lower / sole chamber
- House of Representatives (465 seats)
- Upper chamber
- House of Councillors (248)
- Electoral system
- Parallel: 289 single-member districts plus 176 regional PR seats.
- Term limits
- None for the prime minister (LDP rules limit party presidents to three terms).
Sources
- House of Representatives
- NHK election results, Feb 2026
- EIU Democracy Index 2024; Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2025; RSF World Press Freedom Index 2025; Transparency International CPI 2024; IPU Parline, 2026; V-Dem v15 Liberal Democracy Index (approximate five-year readings)
Last verified 2026-10-29. Party placements are editorial estimates.
Data as of 2026-10-29.