Japan heads to the polls again on Sunday for its second general election in as many years. The snap vote has caught the ruling party, the opposition and much of the electorate off guard.<\/p>\n
Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first female prime minister, is betting on her personal popularity, hoping to succeed where her party failed just last year: delivering a clear public mandate for the long-ruling but deeply unpopular Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).<\/p>\n
It is a political gamble – one her predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, made, and lost badly. Voters will now decide whether it will pay off.<\/p>\n
“The difference this time is that her approval across most media polls has been much, much higher than her predecessors,” says Rintaro Nishimura, an analyst and senior associate at The Asia Group’s Japan Practice.<\/p>\n
“Conventional wisdom says: when approval is high, you call an election.”<\/p>\n
Since taking office last October, Sanae Takaichi has dominated headlines, not through policy or legislation, but through political performance.<\/p>\n
The “work, work, work” mantra in her acceptance speech reinforced the image of an energised, relentless leader.<\/p>\n
In just over three months, she has cultivated a highly visible public profile. She’s taken high-profile visits from world leaders, including receiving Donald Trump only a week into her premiership.<\/p>\n
When they appeared aboard the USS George Washington in Yokosuka, the prime minister raised her fists in the air as President Trump lavished her with praise.<\/p>\n