Japan PM Takaichi Says to Dissolve Lower House Fri.

Tokyo, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced Monday that she will dissolve the House of Representatives at the start of this year’s ordinary session of the Diet, the country’s parliament, to be convened Friday, to call a snap general election. The prime minister said at a press conference that the election for the all-important lower chamber of the Diet, will be held Feb. 8, with the official campaign period set to begin Jan. 27. As the main reason for calling the Lower House election, Takaichi said the new ruling coalition, formed last October between her Liberal Democratic Party and its new partner, the Japan Innovation Party, needs to seek a public mandate. “I want the public to decide whether Sanae Takaichi is suitable as (Japan’s) prime minister” through the election, Takaichi said. She termed the upcoming race “an election to create the future by ourselves,” adding that she will put her position as the country’s leader on the line. In the poll, the LDP-JIP coalition is seen facing off mainly against the Centrist Reform Alliance, a new party launched by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, the LDP’s former coalition partner and now in the opposition camp. The new party comprises Lower House members from the CDP and Komeito. Takaichi’s decision met with criticisms, including from the ruling bloc, as the Lower House dissolution comes only a year and three months after the previous election for the chamber, held in late October 2024. The opposition has argued that the race would delay the passage of the government’s fiscal 2026 draft budget. “I will dissolve the Lower House after taking all possible measures to prevent a vacuum in economic management,” she said. Takaichi said that if the ruling bloc wins a majority of seats in the Lower House, she will consider it a victory. The LDP-JIP bloc currently holds a slim majority in the chamber, at 233 out of 465 seats, including independent lawmakers who joined the LDP-led caucus. She added that the general election will be a test of her “responsible and proactive” fiscal policy. The LDP is considering excluding food items from the consumption tax for two years. Takaichi indicated that a planned suprapartisan national congress to discuss social security reform will be established after the election. The general election will take place 16 days after the Lower House dissolution, the shortest such period since the end of World War II. It will be the first time since 1990 for a general election to be held in February. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]