Takaichi says she will call Feb 8 election for public mandate on whether she should remain PM

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi says she will dissolve the House of Representatives on Friday and hold a snap general election on Feb 8, calling on voters to decide whether she should remain the country's leader.

Critics say the lower house dissolution appears designed to call an election while the cabinet's approval ratings are high, lacking a clear justification, with the sudden winter general election prompting complaints, particularly in heavy-snow regions.

Concerns have also been raised that parliamentary deliberations will stall during the campaign, delaying passage of the budget and key legislation, while the ultra-short election period may leave voters little time to carefully assess competing policy proposals.

At a press conference on Monday, Takaichi said official campaigning will start Jan. 27, after she dissolves the lower house on the opening day of this year's ordinary parliamentary session, in a bid to solidify the foundation of her government.

She said she will seek judgment from voters on "major policy shifts," including her "responsible yet aggressive" fiscal policies and a coalition deal between her Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party in October.

Takaichi said she made a "very grave decision." "I would like to ask people to make a direct judgment on whether they should entrust me with running the nation," she added, citing Japan's parliamentary system where voters cannot directly elect the prime minister.

She said she has been aware that her cabinet has yet to secure a public mandate through a government-selecting election since she took office on Oct 21, adding she wants a ruling-bloc majority in the first lower house election under her premiership.

Takaichi, widely seen as a fiscal dove, vowed to end "excessive austerity" while stressing her commitment to Japan's long-term sustainability, saying she will set "clear and objective benchmarks" to shore up market confidence in government finances.

She proposed a two-year exemption of food from the consumption tax to ease rising living costs, marking a departure from her stance during the LDP's presidential race in October that paved the way for her to become prime minister.

With the LDP-led bloc holding only a razor-thin majority in the lower house, Takaichi emphasized the need for "political stability" to enable her government to carry out reforms as she intends.

The ruling camp remains a minority in the House of Councillors, requiring cooperation with opposition parties to pass bills and budgets.

The period between the day after the lower house dissolution and the voting day will be 16 days for this election, the shortest in the postwar era.

Recent lower house elections in Japan have featured increasingly short campaigns. The period from dissolution to voting day was 24 days in 2017, 17 days in 2021 and 18 days in 2024, highlighting a clear trend toward compressed election timelines.

The move reflects a calculation to capitalize on relatively high support ratings soon after the Cabinet's launch and to hold an election before opposition parties have time to fully prepare, political pundits said.

The snap election is set to be held less than a year and a half after the previous lower house election in October 2024. Under Japan's Constitution, members of the lower house serve four-year terms unless it is dissolved.

To battle the conservative ruling camp, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and the Komeito party, a former longtime LDP ally, agreed Thursday to form the Centrist Reform Alliance, which would be the largest opposition force, for the upcoming contest.

Opposition parties have criticized Takaichi's plan to call an early election, saying she is putting political considerations ahead of enactment of the initial budget for fiscal 2026, starting April, despite her pledge to prioritize policy implementation.

On the timing of the election, Takaichi said at the press conference that she had concluded a series of diplomatic engagements last week. She held summits in Japan with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Takaichi also referred to the 31st anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which killed more than 6,000 people in western Japan, saying it should be commemorated in a calm atmosphere. She was born in the Kansai region, hit hard by the quake.

As for the initial budget bill for the next fiscal year, Takaichi said she hopes lawmakers will pass it "as soon as possible" to curb any negative impact, adding that this was why she set Feb 8 as the voting day.

It is also the first lower house race to be held in February since 1990, fanning fears in heavy snowfall areas where campaigns could be disrupted.

Yoshihiko Noda, co-leader of the alliance, told reporters, "It is the government's role to ensure passage within fiscal 2025 of the fiscal 2026 budget, which includes measures to address rising prices. Why does the dissolution have to be now?"

"There are regions where it snows, and there are students taking entrance exams. Why not dissolve the Diet in spring?," said Noda, a former prime minister.

Takaichi, meanwhile, described the CDPJ-Komeito collaboration as "just for the election," casting doubt on whether its former ally would support the opposition party it fought against just half a year ago in the July upper house election.

© KYODO