Takaichi Vows to Resign If Ruling Bloc Loses Feb. Election

Tokyo, Jan. 26 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, also president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Monday that she will resign immediately if the coalition of the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party fails to win a majority in the House of Representatives in the upcoming general election. Takaichi made this remark during a debate among party leaders a day before the 12-day official campaign period for the Feb. 8 general election begins on Tuesday. “I decided to face public judgment after we made a major political shift by forming a new coalition between the LDP and the JIP,” Takaichi said, explaining her reason for holding the snap election. The prime minister indicated her intention to submit a bill to temporarily reduce the consumption tax rate for food products to zero during a possible extraordinary Diet session this autumn. Meanwhile, Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the Centrist Reform Alliance, a new party formed by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito, the LDP’s former coalition partner, said, “We hope to change politics while putting residents (in Japan) first.” Noda mentioned that the new party will not allow new nuclear plants to be built in the country. Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People, said that his party’s trust in the LDP is “faltering” because Takaichi’s decision to hold the general election made it difficult to enact the government’s fiscal 2026 budget bill by the end of fiscal 2025. Nevertheless, Takaichi said that she will pursue the possibility of the DPFP’s participation in the ruling bloc. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]