Japan elects a House of Representatives of 465 in two ways at once — 289 single-member districts and 176
seats by party list — and a House of Councillors of 248 by halves every three years. The Diet chooses the
Prime Minister; the Emperor is a symbol with no powers related to government.
465 ballots · one per member elected 8 Feb 2026 · 自書式投票
北海道20
東北33
北関東52
南関東59
東京都49
北陸信越28
東海54
近畿73
中国27
四国16
九州54
Japanese voters write the name by hand. Each district slip carries its winner's name, each list slip the party's; the
seal is the party's colour. One table per list block, north-east to south-west.
House of Representatives · 衆議院 · as of 28 Sep 2026
351 of 465.
The LDP–Ishin coalition holds 351 seats in the lower house: past the majority of 233 and the
two-thirds of 310 that lets it re-pass bills the upper house rejects. In the House of Councillors it
has 120 of 248, short of 125.
A “twisted Diet” (ねじれ国会), with a lower-house supermajority to override.
233needed for a majority
LDP315
Chūdō47
Ishin36
DPFP28
Sanseito15
Mirai11
Ind.6
JCP4
Other2
House of Councillors · 参議院 · 3 Nov 2026
125needed for a majority
LDP101
CDP39
DPFP25
Komeito21
Ishin19
Sanseito15
JCP7
Ind.7
5 others13
Caucuses (会派): 衆議院 ↗ ·
参議院 ↗ · coalition on the left
Current government
Who holds office.
Emperor · 天皇Naruhito 徳仁Since 1 May 2019126th; “the symbol of the State and of the unity of the People” (Art. 1), with no powers related to government (Art. 4)
Prime Minister · 内閣総理大臣Sanae Takaichi 高市早苗Since 21 Oct 2025LDP; Japan's first woman PM. Designated again by the Diet on 18 Feb 2026 after the general election
Chief Justice · 最高裁判所長官Yukihiko Imasaki 今崎幸彦Since 16 Aug 2024Appointed by the Emperor on the Cabinet's designation (Art. 6)
Photos: Sanae Takaichi
— Immediate source: MOFA/Japanese Embassy to South Africa, probable source: Cabinet Public Affairs Office, CC BY 4.0 · Minoru Kihara
— 防衛省, CC BY 4.0 · Eisuke Mori
— Cabinet Public Relations Office of the Cabinet Secretariat, CC BY 4.0 · Masakazu Sekiguchi
— 内閣官房内閣広報室, CC BY 4.0 · Yukihiko Imasaki
— 気象庁, CC BY 4.0 . Others public domain.
Via Wikimedia Commons.
Ishin supported the government from outside the cabinet until the 17 September 2026 reshuffle, when Hiroshi Nakatsuka (中司宏) became a minister.
Latest general election · 8 Feb 2026 · turnout 56.26%
A landslide in February.
Prime Minister Takaichi dissolved the House on 23 January 2026. The LDP won 248 of 289 districts
and 67 list seats — 315 in all, more than any party
before it. Its lists ran out in 4 blocks, so 14 seats its votes had earned went to other parties. 92 district losers
returned through the party lists.
315Liberal Democratic Party 248 district · 67 list · 36.7% of list votes
49Centrist Reform Alliance 7 district · 42 list · 18.2% of list votes
36Japan Innovation Party (Ishin) 20 district · 16 list · 8.6% of list votes
28Democratic Party for the People 8 district · 20 list · 9.7% of list votes
15Sanseito 0 district · 15 list · 7.4% of list votes
11Team Mirai 0 district · 11 list · 6.7% of list votes
5Independent 5 district · 0 list · 0.0% of list votes
4Japanese Communist Party 0 district · 4 list · 4.4% of list votes
1Reiwa Shinsengumi 0 district · 1 list · 2.9% of list votes
1Genzei Nippon–Yukoku Rengo 1 district · 0 list · 1.4% of list votes
Upper house, 20 Jul 2025: the LDP won 39 of the 125 seats contested
(turnout 58.51%), and with Komeito fell short of a majority in both houses.
11 Nov 2026Supreme Court ruling on 2025 upper-house malapportionmentGrand Bench; maximum disparity 3.13×; 11 of 16 high-court rulings found an “unconstitutional state”
15 Nov 2026Ehime governor
20 Dec 2026Saga governor
27 Dec 2026Miyazaki governor
11 & 25 Apr 2027 · expected21st unified local electionsGovernors, prefectural assemblies and designated-city mayors on 11 April; other mayors and municipal assemblies on 25 April. The cabinet approved the special bill on 16 Oct 2026.
By Sep 2027 · expectedLDP presidential electionA party vote, not a public election; Takaichi serves the remainder of the term begun in 2024
Emperor · 天皇 Naruhito 徳仁 Since 1 May 2019 126th; “the symbol of the State and of the unity of the People” (Art. 1), with no powers related to government (Art. 4) 
Prime Minister · 内閣総理大臣 Sanae Takaichi 高市早苗 Since 21 Oct 2025 LDP; Japan's first woman PM. Designated again by the Diet on 18 Feb 2026 after the general election 
Chief Cabinet Secretary · 内閣官房長官 Minoru Kihara 木原稔 Since 21 Oct 2025 
Speaker, House of Representatives · 衆議院議長 Eisuke Mori 森英介 Since 18 Feb 2026 
President, House of Councillors · 参議院議長 Masakazu Sekiguchi 関口昌一 Since 11 Nov 2024 
Chief Justice · 最高裁判所長官 Yukihiko Imasaki 今崎幸彦 Since 16 Aug 2024 Appointed by the Emperor on the Cabinet's designation (Art. 6)