Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi yesterday dissolved the lower house of parliament, paving the way for an early election on Feb. 8.
The move is an attempt to capitalize on her popularity to help the governing party regain ground after major losses over the past few years, but it would delay parliamentary approval for a budget that aims to boost a struggling economy and address soaring prices.
Takaichi has been in office only three months, but she has seen strong approval ratings of about 70 percent.
Photo: Jiji Press, AFP
Her Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) could still face challenges as it reels from a series of scandals about corruption and the party’s past ties to the Unification Church.
It is not clear if the new opposition Centrist Reform Alliance could attract moderate voters, while opposition parties are too splintered to a pose a serious threat to the LDP.
Takaichi is also seeing rising animosity with China since making remarks on Taiwan. US President Donald Trump also wants her to spend more on weapons, as Washington and Beijing pursue military superiority in the region.
The dissolution of the lower Japanese House of Representatives paves the way for a 12-day campaign that officially starts on Tuesday.
When Japanese Speaker of the House of Representatives Fukushiro Nukaga declared the dissolution, lawmakers stood up, shouted banzai — “live long” — and rushed out to prepare for the campaign.
Takaichi’s plan for an early election aims to capitalize on her popularity to win a governing majority in the lower House, the more powerful of Japan’s two-chamber National Diet.
The LDP and its coalition had a slim majority in the lower House after an election loss in 2024. The coalition lacks a majority in the upper House of Councillors and relies on winning votes from opposition members to pass its agenda.
Opposition leaders criticized Takaichi for delaying passage of a budget needed to fund key economic measures.
“I believe that the only option is for the people, as sovereign citizens, to decide whether Sanae Takaichi should be prime minister,” she told a news conference on Monday when announcing plans for the election. “I’m staking my career as prime minister.”
Takaichi, a hard-line conservative, wants to highlight differences with her centrist predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.
Takaichi said that voters need to judge her fiscal spending moves, further military buildup and tougher immigration policies to make Japan “strong and prosperous.”
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