After the Landslide
The Takaichi and Abe Governments in Comparative Perspective
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19215899 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Phillip Y Lipscy (0000-0001-6858-5453, University of Toronto, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 99 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 1-15 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Pacific Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0030-851X • E-ISSN: 1715-3379 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0030851x.2026.2672229 |
| OpenAlex | W7164911101 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 37 |
Japanese prime minister Takaichi Sanae secured a historic landslide victory in the February 8, 2026 lower house election. What are the implications of this victory for Japanese domestic politics and foreign policymaking? To answer this question, revisiting the Abe government of 2012–2020 is informative. Abe was Takaichi’s mentor and ideological ally, and he won similar landslides while becoming the longest serving prime minister in Japanese history. Relative to Abe, Takaichi is in a stronger position to exercise initiative in specific areas, such as constitutional revision, economic security policy, and deeper international partnerships with several countries. However, Japan also faces serious and intensifying challenges across domains, which constrain Takaichi’s ability to replicate Abe’s economic reforms and initiatives to defend the liberal international order.
Comparative research · Government (linguistics) · Perspective (graphical) · Hong Kong and Taiwan Politics · Japanese History and Culture · Social Policy and Reform Studies
The Crisis of Liberal Internationalism
The Political Economy of the Abe Government and Abenomics Reforms
Electoral Reform and National Security in Japan
The Mountain Is Moving, but Where To? Japan's 2025 Upper House Election and the Future of Japanese Politics
The Business of the Japanese State
Japan Transformed? The Foreign Policy Legacy of the Abe Government
Press Freedom in Contemporary Japan
Japan's Quiet Leadership
A Casualty of Political Transformation? The Politics of Energy Efficiency in the Japanese Transportation Sector
The Nationalization of Japanese Elections
Kishida the Accelerator
The Institutional Sources of Economic Transformation
The Politics of Energy and Climate Change in Japan under Abe
Moral panic and scandal after the Abe assassination in Japan
Japan in 2024
Strategy of Anchoring
Electoral incentives, policy compromise, and coalition durability
Further Back to the Future
Fighting the Cabal from the Diet
Japan's Revolutionary Military Change
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |