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In her victory speech on Sunday after her party won its largest post-World War II parliamentary majority, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated her ruling coalition’s determination to tackle up front economic issues, and enhance national security and defense policy. As soon as news broke that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had won a supermajority, President William Lai (賴清德) and former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) congratulated her online. Both have exp

For a nation on the precipice of an open conflict with China, Taiwan is badly unprepared to keep its democratic processes intact in a military scenario. Taiwan’s archaic voting infrastructure is one major aspect that leaves the island vulnerable if a contingency plays out. Since 1994, the people of Taiwan have elected their president by direct popular vote, and the nation has received full marks for Electoral Process from Freedom House’s 2025 Global Freedom Score. The exerci

Ja panese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday announced that she would dissolve parliament on Friday. Although the snap election on Feb. 8 might appear to be a domestic affair, it would have real implications for Taiwan and regional security. Whether the Takaichi-led coalition can advance a stronger security policy lies in not just gaining enough seats in parliament to pass legislation, but also in a public mandate to push forward reforms to upgrade the Japanese military.

As Japan faces unprecedented harassment from China following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Nov. 7 remarks on potentially using its military to defend itself in a Chinese attack on Taiwan, it is evident that countries in the region must boost coordination in countering Chinese hegemony. In addition to disinformation campaigns attacking Takaichi, false claims against Japanese sovereignty over Okinawa and economic coercion, Beijing on Saturday ramped up its intimidati